


The Summer of Cas' Discontent (Or: How Cas Got a Hot Lawn Boy & Lost His Mind)

by mahbbys



Series: Long Hot Summer (Lawn Dean verse) [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal Sex, Awkward Castiel, Awkward Crush, Awkward Sexual Situations, Bed Sex, Bedroom Sex, Blow Jobs, Blue Collar Dean, Boss/Employee Relationship, Bottom Dean, Castiel Has a Crush on Dean, Complete, Crush at First Sight, Dean in Shorts, Developing Relationship, Dirty Talk, Dream Sex, Eventual Happy Ending, First Kiss, Flustered Cas, Flustered Castiel, Freckles, Frottage, Hand Jobs, Hot Weather, Inappropriate Erections, Longing, M/M, Making Out, Masturbation, Nervous Castiel, Nervousness, Older Man/Younger Man, Outdoor Sex, POV Third Person Limited, Pretty Dean, Resolved Sexual Tension, Rough Kissing, Secret Crush, Sexual Fantasy, Sexual Repression, Sexual Tension, Sloppy Makeouts, Slow Build, Slow Build Castiel/Dean Winchester, Slow Burn, Summer Love, Summer Romance, Sweat, Swimming, Swimming Pools, Top Castiel, UST, Unf, Voyeurism, Wet Dean, Wet Dream, Young Dean Winchester, dean in swim trunks, graphic depictions of shirtless Dean Winchester, gratuitous paragraphs of describing Dean's body, sexually frustrated Cas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-21
Updated: 2014-10-14
Packaged: 2018-01-20 05:20:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 28,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1498138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mahbbys/pseuds/mahbbys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cas is a well-off book editor who just wants someone to do his lawn work and landscaping. He gets more than he bargained for in the hunky 19 year old Dean Winchester and suddenly Cas is having trouble concentrating on much of anything else during a record heat wave.</p><p>It's going to be a long, hot summer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Long, Hot Summer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas is a well-off book editor who just wants someone to do his lawn work and landscaping. He gets more than he bargained for in the hunky 19 year old Dean Winchester and suddenly Cas is having trouble concentrating on much of anything else during a record heat wave.
> 
> It's going to be a long, hot summer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thanks to [wannaliveindeansdimples](http://archiveofourown.org/users/wannaliveindeansdimples/pseuds/wannaliveindeansdimples) for being my awesome beta!

 

Cas felt like a goddamn pervert.

All he’d wanted was to not have to mow his lawn. Maybe have someone else trim the hedges. That’s all he had actually wanted. There had been nothing untoward in his decision to hire someone to do those things. He was busy - he had manuscripts to edit, and phone meetings to sit in on, and other business to attend to - and he’d worked hard and had earned the right to not have to do everything himself, hadn’t he? Of course he had.

But then Dean Winchester had shown up - with his dimples and freckles and lips and...that...body...and…

Cas wiped his forehead and took a sip of his iced tea.

Everything had gone to hell when Dean Winchester had shown up.

Literally, the only thing that made Cas feel even the slightest bit better about the situation was knowing that Dean was 19 and therefore not a full decade younger than him. (Not to mention more than of legal age, Cas thought, before _really_ feeling like a pervert.) Otherwise, he’d have to fire him and the thought of having to explain why he would no longer require Dean’s services… Well, that wouldn’t do. Especially since Dean lived in the neighborhood so it wasn’t as if Cas could just hire someone else and Dean be none the wiser.

Cas tried to focus on the manuscript in his lap, but it was no good. It was just ink on paper and the words wouldn’t form in his mind. He glanced up again.

He’d been able to ignore that Dean was out trimming the hedges that grew across from the screened in porch where Cas sat, on the other side of the pool. He’d noticed when Dean had been stretching to pull away a dead branch from a tree, and his shirt had risen up to reveal those notches by his hipbone, but he had managed to look away.

Then Dean had waved at him, and he’d had to acknowledge his presence with a wave back and a smile and all hope of paying attention to work had been lost. Cas clenched his jaw and looked back up. Just in time to see a sweat-slicked Dean take off his loose tshirt before bending at the waist to start up the lawnmower engine.

Fuck, it was hot this summer. Cas’ eyes shot back down to the pages in front of him. He pushed up the already rolled up sleeves of his button down shirt, and undid another button at his neckline. He would swear it hadn’t been this warm just a little while ago.

Cas’ head stayed tilted towards his lap and the manuscript in front of him. Cas’ eyes, however, wandered slowly back up to to man outside. God, Dean Winchester was beautiful. He was fair, but not pale, and small freckles dotted his skin. No doubt from all the time he spent in the sun. All the time he spent working very hard in the sun, if the muscles in of his back were anything to go by.

Dean had the a body of a worker, not a model. His hipbones grooved in a point, practically begging eyes to look lower, but his stomach was a little soft. It was defined, and trim, but not with abs that were obviously created in a gym. Somehow that was even sexier, even more frustrating.

What usually drew Cas’ gaze, though, were the broad shoulders that seemed like they’d been drawn by an overzealous superhero cartoonist. Then there were Dean’s arms. Oh good grief, there were Dean’s arms. With biceps that...

‘Focus,’ Cas chastised himself aloud. He cleared his throat, his mouth dry, and took yet another sip of his iced tea, his eyes once again returning to the pages before him. It wasn't even June yet. This was going to be a long, long summer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of the chapters of this will be stand alone vignettes, almost more like a collection of ficlets. There is a plot, though, I promise. It's just hidden in all the sexual tension and gratuitous scenes of Dean shirtless. :)


	2. Summer Dreams Make Me Feel Fine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas' subconscious won't let him get away with trying to ignore his fantasies.

Cas woke up shuddering in pleasure and covered in a thin layer of sweat.

He'd been dreaming, rather explicitly, about Dean Winchester. His entire body was humming with lust from the dream; his morning hard-on was even more insistent than usual.

Cas rolled to his back and breathed deeply, staring at the ceiling, a little panicked. He closed his eyes again, though - not quite ready to let go of the dream just yet, however illicit that might be.

He and Dean had been outside. Dean had just finished doing some kind of work in the yard and had sauntered over to where Cas lay prone on his patio recliner. In the dream, though, the recliner was in the grass instead of on the screened backporch.

Cas had squinted up to Dean, as his tall body had only partially blocked the sun. "Have you finished work for the day?" Cas had asked, his head tilted in confusion.

Dean had licked his lips and then planted a cocksure grin on his face. "I think there's something else I can take of for you, if you'd like," he'd said in a deep tone. 

Then he'd easily swung one leg over Cas and the recliner, and had straddled Cas' hips. Before Cas could protest Dean had pulled off his grass-stained tshirt and tossed it to the ground. Cas had groaned at the sight of Dean's bare skin, tanned and tight, covered in freckles. Dean had grinned bigger and said, "Like whatcha see?" Cas had moaned in reply, his mouth parting.

Then Dean had bent down and grazed his perfect lips across Cas' jaw to his mouth. Dean's tongue had slid between Cas' lips with purpose, his hands had roamed beneath Cas' shirt in exploration.

Cas' hands had trailed up the rigid and warm muscles of Dean's body then, his desire unleashed, and they'd begun kissing deeply as Dean quickly did away with Cas' shirt so he could have full access to Cas' body. Cas had groaned into Dean's mouth as Dean plucked at one of Cas' nipples.

They had started grinding against each other, Dean's hips bucking, his jeans rubbing in just the right place against the bulge in Cas' slacks. Cas had grabbed Dean's short hair and tugged his head back and then he had started licking and biting against Dean's exposed neck and Dean had...

Cas opened his eyes again. His hand had found its way down to his cock and he was mindlessly stroking it while remembering the dream. He stilled his hand as he panted up at the ceiling. "Shit," he said to the empty room. 

He rolled out of bed and headed towards the shower. Maybe if he jerked off under the running water his thoughts of the younger man wouldn't feel quite so damn filthy.


	3. Afternoon Delight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas is trying to focus on work, but Dean doing his work is a little too distracting. The heat of the summer is getting to Cas, but it's not as bad as the heat that comes from Dean Winchester.

Cas leaned his back against the refrigerator and sighed. The kitchen lights were off and only the afternoon sunlight illuminated the house. Cas pushed himself off from the door, wearily, and rubbed his hand along the back of his neck, trying to ease some of the tension there. 

He’d spent too long sitting in bed last night, hunched over a story, and now his neck and back were tight and pinched. He considered taking a shower to ease it, but even the idea of hot water anywhere near him in the heat of this day was too much to bear. He was afraid a cold shower might just make the pain worse.

He poured himself a glass of tea from the pitcher and then replaced the pitcher back in the fridge. As he was drinking, he could hear the faraway sound of a lawnmower starting up. His brow furrowed and he looked towards the kitchen windows, but couldn’t see anything. He thought about it and realized that it probably was time for Dean to be back and trimming the lawn again. The grass was growing so fast already, and the news kept saying it would continue to be a warm and wet season.

Cas picked up the stack of papers he’d brought with him into the kitchen and carried them to his usual spot on the screened in back porch. He ignored the voice in his head that said he might have stayed inside today had he not heard the lawnmower. He settled into the padded patio recliner and placed his tea on the table beside it. He sat down, stretching his legs out, and plopped the manuscript into his lap.

Cas glanced around, but Dean was apparently handling the front yard first. That was just as well, because he really needed to get this story completed. He pulled out his red pen and began reading.

At some point, Cas became aware of movement in his peripheral vision and realized that the buzzing sound of the mower had gotten much, much closer. He glanced up, his eyes having to adjust to real life from the words on the pages, and caught Dean in his gaze.

A very wet-with-sweat, half-naked, open-mouthed Dean, wiping his hairline with one forearm and then stretching his back in such a way that Cas felt his cock twitch in his slacks. Dean licked his lips and narrowed his eyes to look into the sun and Cas made an audible gasp.

Cas quickly cleared his throat, and looked down hurriedly, even knowing Dean was way too far off to have heard or seen his response. Cas felt his cheeks grow even warmer and he tugged at the collar of his polo. He looked up in time to see Dean bent over, checking something on the mower. Which meant he looked down in time to see Dean’s ass, perfectly captured in well worn denim, in the air, and pointed Cas’ direction.

Cas closed his eyes and counted slowly to ten. Maybe a cold shower wasn’t such a bad idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot is actually probably going to show up in the next chapter! Excitement! Confetti! Maybe a little angst!


	4. Summertime, and the Livin' is Easy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas goes out shopping and runs into a bit of a problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look! Plot has begun! 
> 
> I am so sorry for the lack of updates - real life has kind of gotten away from me the past couple of weeks. The next chapter will be posted within a week, though.

Cas set the paper bags full of groceries down on the counter with a sigh. He ran his hand through his hair, noticing that he was in need of a haircut, and glanced around the kitchen aimlessly. He still had several bags to bring in from the car.

Instead, he dug to the bottom of one the bags already inside and pulled out the 6 pack of beer. He popped the top off using the side of the counter and the heel of his hand in one quick, smooth movement. Cas took a long pull from the bottle, gulping half the ale down, and ignoring that it was almost warm from the car ride home.

Cas had a problem. A 6'1" problem that was covered in freckles and had a smile that could charm a monk out of his frock.

It had been bad enough when all there was to Cas' attraction was Dean's looks. It had been a lust filled fantasy, nothing more than the sexual frustration of a rather long dry spell.

Then Dean had gotten chatty last week, when he was clipping the bushes near the back porch and Cas was taking a break from his own work. Cas had learned about Dean. And then Cas had realized that he could actually _like_ Dean. And then the fantasies had become more than purely physical. And then Cas realized he was totally screwed.

Or not screwed, which was really more the problem.

The final nail in Cas' coffin had been hammered in when he went to the grocery store. It had been an uneventful trip until he was leaving. When he was headed out to his car with his groceries in tow, he'd seen dusty brown cowboy boots and denim-clad bowlegs snake their way out from some kind of rusty old black car.

Somehow, he knew. Before any more of the body had been revealed, Cas had a sinking feeling. The legs would connect to hip notches, and the hip notches would connect to a softly defined abdomen, and that would connect to a broad chest, and they would all connect to form Cas' doom.

Then he saw Dean's face, mostly obscured by dark aviator sunglasses and a couple of days of stubble, and Cas had almost walked in front of a car. The honking that followed drew Dean's attention to him and when Cas looked back from the angry driver he saw a flash of dimples and then a bright smile planted firmly on a tanned and beautiful face.

Cas swallowed and hoped he didn't look as much like a trapped rabbit as he felt.

Then Dean was talking to him and Cas was trying to sound coherent, but he was pretty certain he just sounded like he had heatstroke, while Dean was helping him with his groceries like a boy scout who'd found an easy mark in a helpless old lady. Though, Cas was, in fact, feeling pretty helpless.

Dean was wearing a bright white tshirt that was just this side of too tight and it was like staring into the sun. Maybe Cas did have heatstroke. He was definitely feeling hot and lightheaded. Dean asked about his day, and Cas had formed some kind of reply in the positive, but now he couldn't remember what he'd even said.

Dean explained he didn't normally come to this store, but his brother had requested some organic ingredients for a dinner Dean was making him. Cas heard him mention some kind of lost bet, but he was still having trouble concentrating. Every time he would try to focus on what Dean was saying, he'd focus on his mouth instead, and then would have to focus on not getting an erection in public.

More of the conversation had hit him on the car ride home, and he realized that it had been rather interesting, even if his responses had felt alternatingly terse and babbling. Dean had been talking about his brother and how their work was going with Singer's Landscaping. 

Cas had mumbled something about the car Dean had extracted himself from - for all Cas knew he'd literally just said to Dean, "Car?" and pointed like a caveman - and Dean had explained it had been his dad's but now Dean was fixing it up and it would be his. Then he'd asked about the flowers that Cas had bought (for a colleague), wondering if they were for a girlfriend, and had mentioned he might pick some up for his mom.

He'd even reminded Cas to give the fruit tree near the shed more water, because he wasn't sure if it was getting enough, which Cas had found rather thoughtful and also very professional. Cas, in response, had, of course, basically said, "Uh huh, ok" like the accomplished writer and editor that he was.

Cas had smacked himself on the forehead several times during a stoplight because he was certain he'd come across as a complete idiot. Why did Dean have to be so pretty? He was interesting and Cas enjoyed talking to him, but whenever he had to look at Dean for longer than a few seconds, he'd completely lose all self control and sense of focus.

Cas put his fists on the counter, knuckles down, and brooded. Then he picked up the bottle of beer and downed the rest of its contents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're enjoying this! It's been fun to write, so far. As always, I would love any feedback and comments you might want to leave.


	5. Heat of The Moment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas gets bored while waiting around the house and his mind refuses to stray from his crush. So he gives in, and lets his mind wander where it wants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have another PWP chapter. Poor Cas.

It was fucking hot.

Cas ran the cool, wet washcloth over the back of his neck again. The air conditioner was on the fritz and Cas was pretty sure the repairman was going to get there later that afternoon only to find Cas melted into a gooey puddle in the carpet, like some kind of bad horror movie.

He had so far managed to keep from melting by drinking so much iced tea and cold beer that he was considering just lying down on the linoleum in the bathroom rather than continuing to make the trip from couch to toilet. The linoleum would definitely be cooler than the fabric of the couch.

He was lying sideways on said couch, sprawled out, his legs nearly spread eagled, in nothing but his smallest pair of swim trunks. He placed the washcloth back over his eyes and forehead and considered that right now he looked more like a scene from a bad porn movie than the horror film.

He laughed to himself. Maybe the sexy air conditioning repairman would show up and be overcome with lust. Yeah, right, he thought. Besides, they’d probably be too slick with sweat to even manage anything.

The image of sliding against someone, slick with sweat and consumed with lust, took Cas’ mind off the heat of the summer and put it to a different kind of heat. Maybe the distraction would help pass the time until the repair guy could get there.

Cas started playing out a fantasy in his mind...  _There would be a knock at the door, and he’d be too hot and tired to answer it, so the guy would have to let himself in. He’d see Cas there, half hard in his swim trunks, practically blindfolded by the washcloth. He’d saunter in, dropping his supplies, and begin to peel his own shirt off his wide, strong shoulders._

Cas opened his eyes and blinked against the damp fabric that obscured his view. The shoulders he’d imagined were a little too much like Dean Winchester’s for his comfort. He sighed and closed his eyes, trying to start again. This time the guy’s shoulders weren’t quite so model-esque.

_He would come over, naked and stroking himself, walk over to Cas and slowly pull the washcloth away. “I heard you had a problem I could fix,” he would say to Cas._

Cas’ eyes flew open again. The voice had been deep and the eyes had been green. He lifted up and took another long sip of his iced tea before lying down again. When had he become such a pervert?

He narrowed his eyes and glared toward the ceiling for a moment before replacing the cloth over his face. Fuck it, he thought.

_Dean walks in to find Cas lying on the couch, stroking himself through the fabric of his swim trunks. Dean bites his lip, and cocks his head, before palming at his own growing erection through his jeans._

_“Is this a bad time?” he asks._

_Cas smiles. “Seems like perfect timing to me,” he responds, pulling down the trunks enough to take his cock fully in hand._

_Dean’s eyes are glazed with lust and he licks his lips slowly. Cas watches as he strokes and lets out a little moan. “I think you’re right,” Dean replies, breathlessly, before reaching to the back of his neck and pulling off his tight tshirt._

Cas moved his trunks out of the way so that he could slid his palm along the underside of his dick, before squeezing the head.

_He drops his jeans and walks over to Cas, still wearing black cotton boxer-briefs. His cock is fully hard now, and it’s trying to free itself from the fabric confines._

_When he gets over to Cas, he takes his briefs off in a quick motion, then does the same with Cas’ trunks. Dean’s eyes flick over Cas’ body possessively and he swallows as his gaze reaches Cas’ eyes again. “You’re even better than I imagined,” he says, brushing a hand along Cas’ thigh._

_Then Dean straddles Cas and their cocks collide and both men gasp. Cas reaches up and pulls Dean down to him - crushes their mouths together - while Dean’s hips work circles, causing sweet friction between them._

Cas let out a groan and dug his heels into the couch.

**"ARCHANGEL AIR CONDITIONING!”** boomed a voice, as there was a loud, reverberating knock on the front door.

With a jerk, Cas ungracefully slid off the couch and into the floor, banging his elbow on the coffee table. He grimaced and looked around, horrified, as he realized he’d now have to deal with the real-life repairman who had, for the first time in history, arrived early. Cas dropped his head to his chest and heaved out a frustrated, growling sigh. Cas then let out a laugh at his own ridiculousness. At least the bruise forming on his elbow was drawing some of the blood away from his erection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Cas. Even when he gives in and let's himself think about Dean, he can't quite get what he wants. Dean and the plot return in the next chapter!


	6. Middle of Summer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas' reading is interrupted by a flustered Dean and the men get a little bit closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since there was such a gap between the chapters 3 and 4, I opted to go ahead and post 5 and 6 together. I hope you enjoy!

There was a knock at the door and it jarred Cas from the manuscript he'd been engrossed reading. He blinked a couple of times before calling out for the person that he was on his way.

He made it out from under the stack of paper and answered the door to find Dean Winchester standing in front of it. As soon as Dean saw the door opening, he grabbed the dirty baseball cap off his head and clutched it in one hand, scrubbing his sweaty hair with the other as a gesture of respect. It was definitely not endearing, Cas thought. And definitely not sexy.

"Hey, um, I'm sorry to bother you, Mr Novak, but...."

Cas internally grimaced at the name. "Please, call me Cas, Mr. Novak is..." Cas began to say 'my father' before thinking 'Wow, Cas could you make yourself sound even older and lamer?' Instead, he just quietly finished with, "...is too much."

Dean took an appraising look of Cas, his eyes moving from head to toe in what Cas secretly wanted to read as approval, but knew was probably confusion. Dean licked his lips, "Um, yeah ok." Dean's gaze met Cas' again and he said, "Um, anyway, I hate to bother you, Cas, but I think I maybe left my good pair of loppers in your garage? I can't find 'em and last place I remember having them was here."

"Oh," Cas replied. It actually hadn't even occurred to him to wonder why Dean was knocking on his door as he'd been too busy getting excited at seeing Dean. "All right. I haven't seen them in the yard. Um, come on through and I'll let you into the shed. Maybe you left them there."

Dean began to take a step then hesitated, looking to his feet. "Uh..." he breathed out a small laugh. "Maybe I better not. I'm kind of covered in stuff. I don't want to get your nice carpets all dirty," he said, eyeing the inside of the house nervously.

Cas looked down and for the first time took in the dirt, cut grass, and who knows what else that littered Dean's jean cuffs and his sneakers. Then he took in the bowed line of Dean's legs and the way his jeans fit snug over his muscular thighs. Then he noticed how well Dean filled out other places in his jeans.

"Right," Cas said, his brain barely functioning. Had he been drinking? He was certain he'd been sober when Dean had knocked on the door.

"So I'll just come around and meet you back there?"

"Sure..." Then Cas remembered the aloe that he'd been concerned about earlier in the day. "Actually, I'll just walk around with you. I have a plant I wanted to ask you about - if you have an extra moment?"

"Yeah, sure!" Dean said before backing up so Cas could come out.

Cas grabbed his keys and exited the door, moving along to the side of the house, Dean following behind him. Cas found it was easier to breathe around Dean when he couldn't actually see him. He also suddenly felt sober again. He kept his gaze from Dean, focusing on the large aloe as they discussed it and felt like maybe, just maybe, he'd managed to have a complete conversation with Dean that didn't leave him sounding like a rambling imbecile. He wasn't going to bet on it, though.

Then they started heading towards the backyard, where the pool and shed were. Cas saw, from the corner of his eye, Dean shake his head. "Man, I don't know how you can have that pool and not be in it every day in this heat. Temptation would get the best of me, I'd be in it all day, every day," Dean said.

"I actually use it quite a bit. I just prefer to swim around dusk or at night."

"Oh yeah? I don't think I've ever been swimmin' at night," Dean was eyeing Cas now and Cas was finding it hard to breathe again. He focused on the topic at hand as best he could.

"It's my favorite time for it. Especially when it's so hot like this because it's still plenty warm even after the sun’s down," Cas replied. Then he suddenly pictured Dean in nothing but a small pair of swim trunks, his body gliding through the water. That resulted in him tripping over his own foot and Dean, on instinct, reaching out a hand to steady him. Neither said anything about it and Cas was thankful they were finally at the shed.

Cas unlocked the door and as Dean stepped inside, he began undoing the key from the chain, along with another. "Dean..." he said, his voice sounding low and rough even to himself.

Dean's head popped back out of the darkness of the building. "Yeah?"

Cas held up the two keys at chest height. "Here. I have a spare I can use, and you're in here more often than I am. This way if you need anything, or if you leave anything here, you can just come get it. The little one," Cas said, pointing to the one he meant, "goes to the shed. The big one will work on the back gate here."

Dean's eyebrows were straight up and his eyes wide. "Seriously? I mean..." Dean looked at the keys, his eyebrows coming back down to a knit line. "You trust me with those?"

Cas was confused. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"It's just...well, I mean, most people..." Dean laughed a little and looked Cas in the eye. "Most people wouldn't trust a guy like me with keys to get into their fancy back gate and the shed with all their expensive tools."

Cas frowned and said, in a stern voice, "I know you haven't been working for me that long, Dean, but it seems to me that 'guys like you' are exactly the ones that people should trust with keys. You work hard, you’re helpful, and you seem to always be upfront with me. I don't think you're going to steal anything, or come in for any reason other than a legitimate one."

Dean smiled wide at Cas and Cas' mouth went dry. Half of the blood rushed from his body to his groin, as well. Dean took the keys and looked at them for a moment before raising his eyes to look at Cas through impossibly long lashes. "Thanks, Cas. I appreciate that." Dean raised his head and looked at Cas fully. "You can trust me," he said.


	7. Soft Summer Breeze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas can trust Dean. But can he trust himself?

Cas frowned. He didn't like that someone was knocking on his back door. First, because it meant someone had gotten inside both the locked gate and locked door on the screened in porch. Second, because it was after midnight.

He grabbed a long, thin knife from the block on the kitchen counter and warily padded towards the door. He peered through the glass to see Dean Winchester, backlit by sunshine.

It didn't occur to him to wonder why the sun was shining so late at night because suddenly he was standing with the door wide open, and Dean was checking him out, hunger and lust behind deep green eyes.

"Cas," Dean drawled, pulling the ‘s’ of his name almost to a ‘z’, as he looked Cas over again. Dean looked him in the eye then, and licked his pink lips. That motion caused a physical reaction in Cas, just like always.

"I feel overdressed for once," Dean said with a smirk. Cas' eyes narrowed in confusion and then widened in shock. He glanced down, realizing that he had opened the door while completely naked.

Dean's hands went to the hem of his own tight, black tshirt and he slowly pulled it up, revealing softly defined and hard hip notches that dipped below his low slung jeans. He smirked again, and kept his eyes on Cas' gaze as he peeled the shirt completely off.

Then suddenly they were outside on the screened porch, and Dean was taking a step towards Cas. Cas retreated and found himself against the wall, his back cooled by the stone of the house.

Dean was naked, but Cas couldn't see what his body looked like because Dean was so close all he could sense were dilated green eyes and the scent of pine and fresh cut grass.

Dean smiled as his eyes flicked to Cas' mouth. "There's something I've been wondering," Dean said.

Cas managed to croak out, "Oh?"

"Yeah," Dean said slowly. He looked Cas in the eye again as he tilted his head and got a mere inch from Cas' face. "Do you taste as good as you look?" Dean asked, eyes narrowed with a smile toying at his lips. Then Dean dropped away from Cas' face, headed downward to kneel at his feet.

Cas' head went back and met the wall as he moaned and pushed his hips forward. Dean's mouth had wrapped around his cock with zero hesitation or teasing and Cas was struggling with the intensity of the sensation.

He dropped his head again to peer down at Dean, and worked his hand into the dark blond hair of Dean's head. He didn't guide but instead just held on, trying to steady himself.

When he pulled at the hair caught within his fingers, Dean moaned against his dick and electric desire ran through Cas' body. Then they were on the grass, Cas lying on his back and Dean was sucking him off while he stroked the rim of Cas' ass with a finger.

Cas bucked his hips up and Dean's mouth came away from his cock with a pop. Dean laughed as his hand stroked Cas, hard and fast and insistent. "Come for me, then," Dean said. "Show me how much you like it, Cas. Fucking come for me."

Cas fell over the edge at the dream Dean's prompting and woke up as he orgasmed, bucking wildly into open air, coming without any touch or friction.

Cas cried out as he came, and reached full consciousness as something warm and wet hit his stomach.

He panted, open mouthed and wide eyed, as he lay staring at the ceiling in disbelief.

Cas' chest rose and fell quickly with every labored breath. He rose up slightly and glanced at the mess he'd made of himself, glanced at the twisted sheets that had fallen from the bed.

He fell back to the bed with a grunt and shut his eyes. He swallowed hard. "Fuck," he said to the empty room.


	8. Hot Child In the City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Temperatures rise indoors and out, as Cas and Dean learn more about one another.

Cas squinted into the sun as he pulled onto the road where he lived. His car’s air conditioning had struggled to keep it anything other than scorching inside as he drove home from a rare meeting at the office. He was more than eager to get inside his house and strip out of his business suit. 

As he rounded a curve he saw the Singer’s Landscaping truck parked on the street outside his house and frowned. It was far too hot for Dean to be working today. People were being told to stay indoors if possible and he’d heard on the radio that the temperature had broken all previous records by several degrees.

Cas quickly parked and let himself inside the house, adjusting the thermostat as he undid his tie and pulled it off. Then he hurried out through the back door. Dean was doing something to one of the fruit trees. He was working shirtless and had a telltale pinkness to his skin that showed he’d been in the sun too long already. The sheen and beads of sweat just confirmed it for Cas.

Cas’ concerned brain remained in control of his body for once and he didn’t hesitate to call out Dean’s name. Dean fumbled, startled by the unexpected sound. He turned quickly around and waved at Cas. “Hey, Cas,” he croaked.

“What are you doing?” Cas demanded, more upset than he’d realized, striding towards Dean with purpose.

“I’m – What do you mean?” Dean asked, obviously concerned with Cas’ tone.

Cas sighed and closed the rest of the distance between them. “I mean, it’s record temperatures and too hot to even think. Why in the hell are you out here?”

“Because of those reasons,” Dean replied with a smirk. His face cleared of humor as Cas’ face didn’t soften and he said, sheepishly, “It’s too hot and dry for them, Cas. They’ll die if I don’t try to save them.”

Cas sighed again and ran his hand through his hair. “Come inside and get cooled off. Get something cold to drink.”

He could tell Dean was about to protest so he held up a hand to cut him off. “They’re not going to die in the next 20 minutes, Dean. Come inside. Please.”

It was Dean’s turn to sigh as he nodded defeatedly. He stopped to grab his discarded shirt and Cas was suddenly reminded Dean was standing before him half naked. He did his best not to glance at Dean’s nipples and the light trail of hair that ran down to his jeans. He failed, but Dean was putting his shirt back on anyway, so he felt a sense of relief.

The two men walked to the porch, but once there Dean hesitated. “I don’t want to track in all this dirt and everything,” he said quietly, looking to Cas sheepishly.

Cas glanced at Dean’s clothes and beat up sneakers. “Just leave your shoes on the porch. My house can be cleaned, it’s fine.”

“Yeah, ok,” Dean said, sounding unconvinced. He did as he was told, though, pulling off his socks and shoes in a smooth movement and placing them by the door.

Cas led him through to the kitchen and listed off what he had to drink that was already cold. He started to list beer, then remembered Dean’s age and wanted to crawl under the floor. 

He handed Dean his requested soda and then poured himself the last of the iced tea. “Your house is really nice,” he heard Dean say. He turned in time to see Dean looking around.

“Thank you.”

“You live here by yourself?” Dean asked.

Cas tried to convince himself he hadn’t heard pity in Dean’s voice. “I do,” he replied. There was a long pause, and Cas took the time to roll up the sleeves of his dress shirt.

“So, you must be, like, really smart,” Dean said. “I mean, you’re always reading, and got those papers and books and everything.Like, every time I see you, you’ve got a pile of pages or a book in your lap,” Dean smiled.

Cas hesitated, unsure of what to say. Cas tried to ignore the tug in his chest at the idea that Dean had been paying attention to him, enough to notice what Cas’ habits were. He didn’t realize Dean had ever really noticed him, much less his manuscripts.

Dean continued. “I’ve seen you with a pen. Marking through them and stuff. Are you a professor or something?”

Cas realized he was looking at Dean like a deer caught in the shine of headlights and forced himself to look away as he cleared his throat. “I’m a book editor actually.”

Dean almost choked on his drink and Cas looked back to him. “Seriously? Dean asked, setting his drink can onto the counter behind him. He turned back to Cas and said, “That’s pretty awesome.”

Something in Dean’s tone delight him, reminded him of the disbelief he’d had when he’d landed his first editing job. “Yeah, it kind of is,” Cas said in wonder. Then it hit him what he’d said and looked to Dean, feeling embarrassed.

Dean went wide eyed for a moment before throwing his head back in a quick ricochet of laughter. Cas smiled at the sound as it filled the room and then chuckled as well.

Cas considered asking, ‘What do you want to be?’ but then added a ‘when you grow up’ to the end and pursed his lips in annoyance at himself instead of saying anything. It was also a rather insulting question, he decided, because it was quite possible Dean wanted to be a landscaper, a job that was just as valid as a book editor.

Then it hit him that he’d let what felt like an uncomfortable silence grow while he’d monologued internally and he looked at Dean again trying to decide what to say. And then he realized just how sweaty and dark pink Dean was. Cas frowned. “You shouldn’t have been working out in this heat.”

Dean looked hurt and Cas wanted to kick himself. Actually, in truth, he wanted to comfort Dean by kissing the hurt expression off his face, but that made him want to kick himself so it all amounted to the same.

“I appreciate that you were trying to keep the trees alive,” Cas said, “and I respect your dedication, but they shouldn’t come before your safety, Dean.”

Dean glanced up at Cas and then took a slow sip of his drink. “You’re probably right,” he said.

“I wouldn’t have blamed you if the trees suffered, if that’s what worried you. I know what this weather is like and I don’t expect you to work miracles.” Cas smiled at Dean.

Dean smiled back and Cas’ eyes were drawn to Dean’s mouth and then Cas suddenly felt the need to add a few more cubes of ice to his tea. “So, uh,” Cas cleared his throat, “tell me about this car you’re working on.”

Dean practically beamed and Cas tamped down what felt like growing affection. “Yeah?” Dean asked before setting his soda back down. “Well, it’s a Chevy – a Chevy Impala – and my old man got it back in the 70s. It’s a 60s model, though, a 1967 one.”

Dean had become animated, clearly passionate about the subject and Cas was trying not to enjoy watching him. "It hadn't been driven much since... Are you sure you wanna hear about this?"

"Please! Continue," Cas said, taking a few steps to prop his back against the kitchen island just a couple of feet in front of Dean. "I know nothing about cars so listening to someone who does is kind of fascinating."

That was true, and Cas was very interested. but he didn't mention that listening to Dean talk distracted Cas from staring unabashedly at all the places Dean's tshirt stuck to his muscles where they were wet with perspiration.

"Oh, ok. Well, anyway, it hadn't been run in a while and my dad knew I wanted it." Dean laughed, "I've wanted it since I was 6, at least. So…yeah, on my last birthday, since I was working enough to pay for the insurance and everything, he gave it to me."

"I got it running and it’s really nice and pretty under the hood and on the inside, now. I know it looks like it’s kind of a rust bucket on the outside. Bobby - that's the guy I work for - he and my dad said that, for my birthday, they'll each pay a third of the cost for a really nice pro paint job. If I can save up the last third by then, that is.Then I can get her looking shiny and new again."

"That sounds like a good gift. Do you think you'll have your portion saved up in time?"

"Yeah! Well...I think so," Dean said. He rubbed the back of his neck, tightening the muscles in his shoulder and arm, and Cas had to look away. "I've got til next January so it shouldn't be a problem." 

Cas almost swallowed one of the ice cubes from his tea as he finished it. "Did you say January?"

"Yeah, my birthday's the 24th of January. You ok, man? You look kinda pale," Dean leaned in towards Cas out of concern and the proximity was too much for Cas.

"Yes," he said, a little too loudly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just...I…drank the cold tea a little fast I guess," he lied.

Cas stumbled over the math. He realized that a birthday in January meant Dean had turned 19 this year. Which, in turn, meant he wasn't turning 20 this year. Cas' birthday was in the fall. Cas would be turning 29. Which meant that Dean was, in fact, a full decade younger than Cas.

Cas was going to have to move. There was nothing else for it. He worked from home – so he could live anywhere, right? He would just move. He’d move away. Far away. He’d always wanted to see Nepal. He could move before his birthday, before Dean was technically 10 years younger. That should give him plenty of time to come up with an excuse for his family and friends.

He’d just move across the world and go back to his nice, normal, celibate life wherein he didn’t develop crushes on guys who were being potty trained when he was hitting puberty.  **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the two latest chapters! I figured I'd post two again this week. More soon, my lovelies.


	9. The Boys of Summer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas gets flustered while on the phone, and gets a couple of surprises.

Cas was trying to pay attention to the phone call with his sister, Anna - he was failing - but he was, in fact, trying. It was just that he was having trouble concentrating ever since he'd heard the engine of a weed whacker start up outside.

His lack of focus was likely why he'd so completely misunderstand her last question. What she'd asked, Cas’ brain realized too late, was,"What about you? What destination have you got your eye on?"

What Cas had insistently replied was, "What? I don't have my eye on anyone!" as he’d guiltily snapped the blinds back shut.

Cas knew from the long pause that followed that he'd not answered the correct question. Shit.

"Um. Ok, I...don't..." There was another pause and it gave time for Cas to realize the weed whacker sound was getting closer. His eyes narrowed and he tried to determine which direction it was coming from. He stalked through the house as he listened to the buzzing.

"Um, Cas, are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Cas said, in a tone he immediately realized betrayed that he wasn't at all fine. Before Anna could say anything else, Cas interjected with, "I might be moving." He was pretty sure Dean was in the front yard, maybe close to the road.

"What? Why? You love that place!"

"It's too hot," Cas muttered as he snuck a peek out the window again. 

"Cas. It's a heat wave. It's affecting the whole..."

"And I've always wanted to travel. I can go somewhere colder," Cas said, unknowingly interrupting. Dean came into view then and Cas flinched as he moved away so fast from the window that the blinds snapped on his finger. Like Nepal, he thought again. There would be no bowlegged boys in black tshirts on his snow-covered mountain.

"And the neighbors are...distracting," he said, wandering further into the living room and away from the front window.

Anna gave out an exasperated laugh. "So buy a better air conditioner and tell the neighbor kids to get off your lawn."

"What?” Cas frowned absent-mindedly. “No, he's supposed to be there. I signed a contract.” Cas bit his thumbnail. “And he's not a kid!" he added distractedly, as he was mentally packing and determining what of his things he'd actually need in another country.  **  
**

There was another long pause and the realization of what he'd just said dawned on Cas. "Castiel," Anna said in a low tone. "What is going on?"

"What? I don't. Nothing." Cas sat down hard on the couch, with a huff of air. That was the problem, really. There was nothing going on and there wouldn't be. There couldn't be. 

"Cas, talk to me," Anna's voice softly over the phone. 

There was another long pause, this time from Cas, as he sat pinching the bridge of his nose. "There's..." 

Cas thought, but did not say, there's this hot guy outside my house who also seems to be interesting and nice and hard working and I want to bone him and I’m pretty sure also ask him out to dinner and just look at his stupid beautiful face, but he was getting rid of his training wheels when I was getting rid of my virginity and...

"Cas?" Anna's voice halted Cas' inner monologue. 

"There's nothing going on.” Cas sighed as quietly as he could and took in a deep breath. “I'm just...overly hot and overly tired and..." Cas swallowed as his words trailed off. Over being lonely, he mentally added. He squinted his eyes closed.

"Anyway, Anna, someone's at the door," he lied. "I'll have to call you back." Cas hung up before she could reply and dropped the phone to the couch with a soft thud.

There was a knock at the door as the phone landed. Cas' head snapped up to the door, then down to phone, and back again. He frowned, eyes still wide with surprise. "You couldn't do that again if you tried," he told himself out loud as he pushed off the couch. 

Cas realized it had gotten quiet again as he walked to the peephole. He looked through it to see Dean's profile as he gazed down and to the side. The curve of his lips and the strong lines of his nose and jaw.

Cas swallowed and tried to breathe as he opened the door. 

"Hey Cas," Dean said, turning forward and grinning. Then his expression fell into one of concern as he asked, "Are you ok?"

Cas focused on taking the terrified scowl off his face and cleared his throat. "Yes, I'm fine. Um. How are you?"

Dean smiled again and Cas felt a bolt made of sunshine hit his chest and his lungs faltered. "I'm pretty good. Been a busy day. I just came to hit the stuff by your walkways and near the road."

"Ah. Ok," Cas replied. He stood there staring at Dean's smile for several seconds before it occurred to him to ask, "Um. Did you need something?" Like my body, he added in his mind before running his hand down his face. 

"Oh! Ah, no, um, actually I just swung by to ask if you might want some tomatoes?" Dean's face now seemed a little sheepish. Cas tried to school his expression yet again into a more friendly one, since he was obviously putting Dean on edge. 

He ignored how sexy it was to watch Dean play at the back of his neck with the palm of his hand, and paid attention to Dean's words. As best he could, anyway. 

"Bobby's been growin' 'em in his big greenhouse and he's had a bumper crop even with all this heat.” Dean shrugged a shoulder and rubbed his right arm with his left hand. “And I uh, knew you cooked cause I saw all that stuff you had at the grocery store so... Um."

Cas blinked slowly and the long pauses of his day continued. 

Dean cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck again. "So, uh, would you like some?  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a cliffhanger, but not too bad, right?
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading and subscribing! Lots of love to you.


	10. Summertime Blues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas gets his tomatoes and offers something unexpected in return.

It took Cas a moment before he realized that Dean was asking him a question. Cas just stared, as Dean jerked a thumb towards the driveway just out of Cas’ line of sight. “I’ve got a ton of ‘em,” he said, quietly. 

Cas' brain caught up and he finally replied, a little too enthusiastically, "Oh! Yes. That's very nice of you!"

"Ok, cool," Dean said, smiling again. "Um, I'll uh, I'll go get them."

Dean's bowlegs carried him quickly away and Cas simply continued to stand and watch for a moment before Dean disappeared out of view. Then Cas glanced in the mirror beside the door and scowled at his hair. He'd yet to get it cut and it was swept in about 7 different directions. He ran his hands through it, making it much worse. He didn't have time to try again though, as he heard Dean's footsteps on the sidewalk.

Cas quickly stepped back to the door and tried to look nonchalant. Then his eyes widened as he saw just how many tomatoes Dean was carrying. In his arms Dean cradled a flat crate, like the kind sodas came in, and it was full of plump, red tomatoes. They all looked like something from a farming advertisement.

Dean apparently caught Cas' expression because he threw his head back just a bit and laughed. "You don't have to take all of them," he assured Cas as he deftly kicked off his shoes just at the outside edge of the doorway. "I figured I could bring them all in and you could pick which ones you want."

"Oh, I...thank you." Cas held his hand towards the kitchen and said, "It's this way," as he took the lead through the house. 

Once he entered the kitchen, Cas turned and saw that Dean was still several steps behind. He was looking around, seemingly intrigued by Cas' home and things. When Dean caught Cas watching him he smiled and picked up the pace. 

"Sorry," Dean said as he set the crate onto the kitchen island. "I like your place." He smiled again at Cas and then his face fell. "I'm not...I'm not like, casing the joint or anything. I just...you seem to have similar taste as me, is all."

Cas frowned. "Why would I think you were 'casing' the place?"

Dean shrugged and looked uncomfortable. "I don’t….you wouldn…” Dean stammered. Then he let out a quick sigh and stuck his hand out towards Cas. “Hi, I’m Dean, and sometimes I say stupid stuff.”

Some of Cas’ tension eased as he laughed and took Dean’s hand to shake it. “Nice to meet you,” Cas said gruffly, still smiling.

He studiously avoided thinking about how strong and warm Dean’s hand was and instead looked over to the tomatoes. That caused Dean to step past him, to allow Cas better access to the crate. When he did so, Cas realized that Dean actually did smell like pine needles and freshly cut grass, just as he had in Cas’ dream.

Images of the dream rushed to the surface as Cas’ body reacted to the olfactory memory and Cas had to think fast. He clenched his jaw as he pushed his pelvis against the cold tile of the counter, hoping the shock and chill would take care of the semi-erection he was suddenly sporting.

Cas cleared his throat to disguise his slight gasp as he pressed against the island. “So, these look very good!” he said, once again louder than he’d intended to be. “Bobby must have quite the green thumb.”

“Yeah, I s’pose so,” came Dean’s voice from beside him. “He says since he and his wife never had kids, he raises plants instead.” Cas could see Dean shrug from the corner of his eye.

Cas’ brain regained partial blood flow and he found his manners. “Would you like something to drink?”

Dean seemed surprised, but pleased, and asked for a soda. Cas’ hand hesitated over a beer for himself, but he opted for a soda as well. As Dean popped the tab of his drink can, Cas began selecting tomatoes. He was already planning out what sauces he could make and craving a BLT. “Are you sure I can have as many as I’d like?” he asked, raising his eyes to Dean.

Cas swallowed as his eyes caught Dean’s. Dean had leaned onto the counter, a hand resting on either side of the crate, on the opposite side from where Cas stood. From the angle Cas was at, and in the dim light of the kitchen - Cas suddenly realized he hadn’t bothered to hit the light switch, he’d been so distracted - Dean’s eyes looked dark and dilated, as if he was fully enjoying what he saw.

Dean’s brows flicked up just a little, but he didn’t look away from Cas. “Hmm?” he asked, his voice low and sleepy-sounding.

“I...I asked if I could have as many as I’d like.” Cas was trying to remember how to breathe.

“Yeah. Yeah, take what you want,” Dean said, in the same distracted and deep voice. Dean’s gaze had dropped, and whatever thoughts he was lost in, his unseeing eyes seemed almost to stare at Cas’ mouth. 

Cas had definitely forgotten how to breathe. Was it in and out? Or out and then in? Shit, it was hot. Cas wiped at his forehead with the back of his hand and went back to thinking about tomato-based sauces, trying to ignore Dean.

“I’ll need 6 for spaghetti sauce. And I’ll take a couple for sandwiches…” Cas began distractedly listing off what he planned to make as he gathered tomatoes in his arms. Eventually, he set them down on another counter to gather more.

Then he was done, and there were only a half dozen tomatoes left in the crate. Cas frowned and bit down on his bottom lip. “Erm…” Cas heard a soft, breathy chuckle from Dean and looked up.

Dean suppressed a smile and then licked his lips and Cas wanted to suck on his face until he was oxygen deprived again.

“Um, Cas...you sure you don’t want those 6, too?” Dean said, a smile now firmly at his lips. It didn’t strike Cas as mocking, but as almost fond. Cas felt his cheeks burn with a flush of embarrassment.

Cas smirked, a little shyly. “You did say as many as I wanted,” he replied, quietly.

Dean laughed again. “All right, fair enough. It’s not like Bobby’s got a shortage of the damn things.”

“Do you need some back?”

“No! No, Cas, I was just - I don’t know it’s kind of cu...funny,” Dean cleared his throat. “Kind of funny how your eyes got all big when you saw how many I had, but then you wound up taking most of them. That’s all.” Dean was smiling, but looking down at the crate instead of Cas.

“I have a bit of a thing for pasta,” Cas admitted, setting the few tomatoes he still held down onto the counter.

"Oh yeah?” Dean had one eyebrow quirked up at Cas when he turned back to face Dean, and it was the most adorably sexy thing Cas had ever witnessed. “Good to know.”

Cas didn’t have time to ask why it was good because Dean was suddenly picking up the crate and saying, “I gotta get going. Promised my brother I’d take him to the pool today.”  

Cas noticed the annoyance in Dean’s voice. “Is that tone directed at your brother or...?”

“Huh? Oh! No, no way. Just the public pool.” Dean shrugged and pursed his lips. “I love swimming, but I hate the crowds. Especially in this heat, there are so many people… I think there’s more bodies in the pool than water on the weekends.” **  
**

Cas walked along behind Dean as they headed towards the front door of the house. Cas found himself very interested in his own carpet as he tried not to look at the way Dean’s ass moved in his jeans. “I imagine it must be very crowded.” Cas’ mind went to an image of Dean in swim trunks and he had to look up from the carpet because he was suddenly feeling very dizzy.

“Yeah. I don’t much like it even when it’s not this hot. I used to take him to the Y to swim - super early in the morning - cause it would just be us… He’s 15 now though, and he wants to sleep in. Plus hang out with his buddies.” Dean pulled a face and shrugged one shoulder as he stopped by the door. “Oh well. Enjoy your tomatoes, man. I’m glad you can use them.”

“Sure, um. Thank you,  again , very much. It was nice of you to think of me.” Heaven knows I think about you, Cas added silently as he opened the door. “Dean…”

Dean was shoving his feet back into his shoes while trying to hold the crate and tomatoes. He looked back up. “Yeah?”

“If you’d ever like to use my pool, you’re welcome to ask.” Cas’ neck tightened as he tried not to wheel around to see who had said that because somewhere in the back of his mind he knew it had been him. His whole body went still as he tried to figure out what had possessed him to say such a thing. 

Then Dean gave him a dazzling grin and Cas was pretty sure he’d say just about anything to see it again. “Really?” Dean sounded so excited and looked so happy that part of Cas’ mind screamed to give Dean not only the use of his pool but his car keys and the PIN to his atm card as well.

“Yes, sure, why not!” Cas said, horrified as words came falling out his mouth, unstoppable. “It’s not as if I’m always using it and it’s much nicer and more private than the public pool and it’s the least I could do as often as you’re here doing things for me.” Cas was nodding along as if he believed what he was saying. “Plus, the tomatoes,” he added lamely, as if that explained everything.

“I gotta say, man, that’s pretty awesome of you. I… I don’t know that I’ll take you up on it, but I really do appreciate the offer.” Dean smiled again and Cas wondered if he fainted if he could manage to fall into Dean’s arms. Then he remembered Dean was still holding the crate, so he steadied himself against the door.

“Sure, of course. Um. I guess you should go, and I have...thi…uh...manus...stuff.” Cas nodded. “Ok, bye!” he said, too loudly again. “Have fun at the pool.”

“Yep. See you later.” Dean waggled a finger from where he held the crate in lieu of a wave.

Dean turned to walk away and Cas couldn’t shut the door fast enough. He leaned against the cool surface, forehead pressed hard to it, with his eyes shut tight. From the vicinity of the couch he could hear his sister’s ringtone going off. “I have to move,” Cas groaned against the wood.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Cas. I hope you enjoyed this last chapter more than he did. :)
> 
> In other news - oh my goodness, you guys! Thank you so much for all the love! It makes me so happy to hear how much you're enjoying this fic, seriously.


	11. Green Leaves Of Summer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas ventures outside in the heat and has to play caretaker unexpectedly.

Cas got up from his laptop with a huff and checked the sauce again, even though he knew it needed to sit and simmer. He'd thought about Dean with every slice of every tomato and now he was on edge. 

It had been a week since he’d seen Dean, but his thoughts still kept going back to him. Cas wondered how long Dean had been working for Bobby Singer. He wondered if he and his brother had had a good time at the public pool. He wondered just how small Dean’s swimming trunks were. He wondered just how big Dean’s…

Cas sighed hard with a clenched jaw, dropped the spoon onto a spoon rest, and replaced the lid to the pot. He sat back at the computer that was perched on the counter but, as if on a spring, immediately hopped back up again from restlessness. After a few minutes of pacing and busily checking things that didn’t need to be checked, Cas retrieved his half-finished book from the bedroom. The heat wave continued on relentlessly, but there was a strong breeze today, and he missed reading on the porch in the sunshine. 

Cas didn't often have the time for pleasure reading and so he decided he'd make the most of it. Maybe it would get him out of his own head for a while. He was already nearing the end of the book anyway so it wasn't as if he'd have to endure the heat long. He poured himself some lemonade, spiked it with a shot of whiskey, and carried it and his book out to his lounger. He settled in and, soon enough, he was lost in the story and oblivious to the world around him.

Cas had just begun the last chapter when he heard a noise at the fence that pulled him back to reality. He looked up and as his eyes adjusted he saw Dean striding into the yard and pulling the gate closed behind him.

It had been a while since Cas had sat outside on the porch. That was maybe why Dean didn't seem to notice his presence at all. Cas should call out, maybe wave. Say hello. Instead, he took the opportunity to watch Dean for a moment, despite his conscience screaming that it was a bad idea.

Shit, Dean was pretty. He just was, no matter how much Cas tried to find flaws. He moved gracefully and every step he took was fun to watch. Too much fun to watch, Cas reminded himself, as he looked back to the open book in his lap. He sighed and rubbed at his temple as he attempted to find where he'd stopped reading.

He was grateful to be at the finale of the book because it made it easier to ignore Dean and return to the words. Soon though, he was finished and the story was over, and his mind went back to real life. Real life which consisted of a 6’1” demi-god that was currently standing almost directly across from Cas, on the other side of the pool, still unaware of Cas’ presence.

Cas downed some of his lemonade and then wiped the condensation from his hand onto his shorts to avoid getting the book wet. As he did so, he watched Dean, feeling like the creepy neighbor from some bad after-hours Showtime movie the entire time. 

What was a breeze this morning had been strong winds last night, and there were assorted branches, leaves, and debris caught in the thick of the bushes. Dean was pulling the various items from the hedges across the way; nothing that should have been interesting. Cas was enraptured anyway.

Dean moved with confidence and assurance, and it was easy to see that he was comfortable with his work. He moved as if it all came to him without thought, and it was like watching a dancer or an athlete do the things they practiced for hours a day. It was infuriatingly sexy. Cas sighed and took another sip of his drink.

When he looked back, Dean was reaching up towards the tree nearest him. The tree grew on the opposite side of the hedge, near the road, but drooped low over the bushes. Dean was pulling on a limb with one hand in order to reach a small dead branch with the other.

Cas' eyes automatically flitted down to where Dean's shirt rode up and exposed a bare hip bone. Then Dean turned a little and Cas caught sight of the way his jeans hung low right along the swell of his ass. Cas closed his eyes for a moment, swearing silently to himself, and then looked upwards to the branch instead, trying to focus on anything else. Cas’ throat was now dry, despite the lemonade.

He paid little attention to the branch Dean was tugging on, but he followed the curve of it along further and realized it was tangled in with a larger one that was also detached from the tree itself. It wasn't enormous by any means, but it was at least 4 feet long and had various shoots. Cas' brain worked out what was about to happen just fast enough for him to yell out "Dean!" before the larger branch hit the younger man in the neck, as he'd looked down when the first branch had come loose.

"Ow! Sunuvabitch!" Dean exclaimed. It was followed by a series of other expletives, but Cas didn't hear them as he was immediately up and running. He zipped through the screen door within seconds. He was probably overreacting, but Dean had doubled at the waist when he was hit and the branch seemed larger now that it was next to Dean, half on the ground and half on the hedge. 

By the time Cas reached him, Dean was standing a little straighter, but not fully upright, and he was rubbing his neck with one hand. Cas immediately saw a red flash of fresh blood. "Dean, are you all right?" Cas' eyes skimmed for any further damage.

"Shit!" Dean said, almost under his breath. He looked up at Cas then and seemed embarrassed. "Sorry, I… _shit_. " Dean moved his neck stiffly to look to his side. He raised the now torn fabric of his shirt just over the protrusion of his shoulder and revealed a second gash along the edge of his arm. He groaned and grimaced, and Cas could see him gritting his teeth.

"Come inside," Cas commanded, as gently as he could. "We'll get you cleaned up." Cas sighed and ran a hand through his hair wildly. "I saw it just as it was coming down; I didn't have time to warn you." 

"I should've been paying more attention," Dean muttered.  Well, maybe if I’d been paying attention to what you were doing instead of your _ass_ , Cas thought with a bitter twist to his lips. 

They got onto the screened porch and neared the door that led into the kitchen. To Cas' surprise, Dean stopped and began kicking off his shoes. Cas looked at him bemused. "I don't want to track stuff in your house," Dean explained calmly, obviously catching Cas' look.

"I know, it's just..." Cas shook his head. He didn't understand how Dean could be thinking about the floor of the house when he was bleeding and had just had a piece of a tree almost land on his head. Then again, he really wasn’t one to judge anyone else’s thought processes.

Cas opened the door with a frown. He seemed more upset about Dean being hurt than Dean was, and he didn't like how protective he felt. He shook it off and instead thought of how grateful he was that he'd been outside. Dean didn't seem like the kind to have knocked on the door asking for help, and probably would have just kept working after a bit.

Cas pulled out the chair from where he’d sat at his laptop and motioned for Dean to sit. Then he quickly walked into the bathroom to retrieve a first aid kit. When he returned, Dean was examining the gouge in his arm, but looked up and gave Cas a small, shy smile that made Cas’ chest pull.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cannot believe all of the support for this fic. It thrills me to the core, seriously. I am so happy that you're enjoying it so much. The comments I get make my day every single time. Thank you guys so much! I'm posting two chapters since it's been a while since I last updated. (Real life unfortunately took control for a while.) Also, yes, I fully intend to post a sequel that's all of this from Dean's perspective. :)


	12. Summer Wind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas and Dean learn more about one another and Cas extends an offer for lunch.

Cas laid the first aid kit on the countertop and began fumbling through it as Dean scooted a little closer. Cas was grateful that Dean began to speak because it took his mind off how little space there was between them.

“I’m uh...I’m sorry about before. With, ya know, all the swearing.” Dean’s mouth was drawn slightly to the side and he looked up at Cas through his lashes. Cas was trapped in the moment, suddenly very aware of how close Dean’s eyes and dimples and freckles and mouth all were. Then it occurred to him that he was staring as if trying to bore a hole through Dean with his eyes and reminded himself to blink.

Cas cleared his throat. “I don’t give a fuck,” he said, as seriously as he could, before turning back to the contents of the kit to hide his smirk. He saw, rather than heard, Dean’s breathless laugh - from the corner of his eye, Cas caught the movement as Dean’s chest jerked inward. Cas looked back up in time to see Dean’s grin spread before his head tilted back a little and he laughed fully.

Cas involuntarily smiled at the sight and when the sound of Dean’s laugh subsided, Cas had to remind himself again how to behave - this time that he should look away from Dean’s mouth. He pulled out a cotton ball and the rubbing alcohol. “You should clean out the cut in your arm, I guess. It looks like it’s got a lot of dirt and it’s bleeding much more than your neck.” Cas frowned. “Is it very deep? I can’t tell; there’s too much blood.” The smear of red across Dean’s arm worried him.

“Nah. It’s just a flesh wound.” Dean winked as if Cas should get the joke. He didn’t, but he smiled anyway. His lower half was too busy doing flip flops over the wink for his top half to do anything more. Dean continued, “There’s a lot of blood, but it’s not bad. I’ve had worse.”

Cas rubbed his chin as he vaguely remembered something about tetanus and piercing wounds and dirt. “Are you up to date on your vaccinations?” He looked at Dean with a frown. 

Dean looked at him wide-eyed and then smiled warmly and Cas wanted to write sonnets about the crinkles that bloomed next to Dean’s eyes. “Yeah, Cas,” came Dean’s throaty reply. “Rabies and everything,” he said, nodding and smirking, with raised brows. 

Cas scoffed and rolled his eyes, but he could tell Dean had meant it playfully and not in a mocking way. “I was thinking more of tetanus, actually.” He said it with a smile, as he dropped his eyes back to where Dean was lightly dabbing with the cotton ball.

“Oh! Yeah, I got one of those last year.” 

When he started middle school, a voice in Cas’ head quipped. He ignored it, but Dean had apparently seen the brief look of surprise on Cas’ face as he then shrugged and said, “I’m repairing a rust bucket, remember? Plus, Bobby likes us to stay up to date, what with all the sharp tools and shit - I mean, stuff. Er. Sorry.”

“If you continue with that kind of language, Dean, you can get the fuck out of my house,” Cas said in a deep, deadpan voice. Dean was caught in the middle of licking his lips as he smiled wide and laughed. Cas was almost certain that watching it was better than an actual orgasm. 

Cas turned to look away and remembered the sauce. “Shit,” he muttered as he rushed over to the stove. It was on low enough that it wouldn’t be a problem, but he didn’t like that he’d forgotten about it.

You’re becoming forgetful because you’re old, the same voice chimed in unhelpfully in the back of his head. Cas glared down at the tomato sauce. He heard Dean suck in a breath and turned to look at him again.

“Damn, that hurts. You mind looking at my neck?” Dean asked, his head tilted down and to the right a little. Cas shook his head and walked back over. “I think I’m going to have a bruise tomorrow,” Dean muttered.

Cas looked at the scrape and frowned again. “I think you may have a bruise today,” he said. The scrape wasn’t very deep, but it was wide and looked like a cross between a cut and rug burn. There was a slight blue tinge around it, showing through the tan and freckles of Dean’s skin. Cas felt awful. “I wish I’d seen it falling in time,” he said softly, as he dabbed at the wound with a new alcohol-coated cotton ball.

“Nah, I should’ve been paying better attention. I’m always kind of spacey after I…” Dean trailed off and then cleared his throat. His long fingers slid up to rub at his neck beside the sore and Cas’ eyes followed them. “I was distracted and not paying enough attention to what I was doing. My own fault.”

Cas finished cleaning the scrape and threw the cotton balls away. “Would you like a Tylenol or anything?” he asked as he turned back to Dean. “Or something to drink?”

“A drink sounds great, thanks.” As Cas went to the fridge, Dean asked, “So uh...what’s new with you? Besides having clumsy dudes come into your yard and knock trees down on themselves.”

Cas chuckled, but then sighed. “I’m actually trying to plan my vacation.”

“Oh yeah? That sounds nice.” Dean took the can of soda from Cas with a nod and a smile.

“Does it?” Cas leaned against the counter near the sink. “It isn’t. I’m going away with my brother and sister and the whole thing has become more work and stress than my job.”

“Ouch,” Dean replied with a frown. “That sucks, man.”

There was brief silence and Cas’ mind tried to go to all of the places where Dean’s jeans were tight. When he attempted to distract himself, his mind went back to what Dean had said about being distracted. Cas frowned. “What caused you to not be paying attention?” he asked, placing his palms on the counter behind him and crossing his legs at the ankles.

“Hmm?” Dean asked as he took a sip of his drink.

“You said you weren’t paying attention, that you’re ‘always spacey after’ something - what made you ‘spacey’?”

Dean looked sad suddenly, and Cas wished he could take back the question. Dean ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Well, I think I mentioned something a while back about buying flowers for my mom?”

Cas nodded as a sense of dread pooled in his belly and he was unsure why.

“Well...the flowers are - They’re for her grave.” Dean licked his lips and took a deep breath, and then suddenly the words rushed out of him, as if he wanted them gone. “She died when me and Sammy were little kids. We went yesterday and placed some more flowers and I’m always a little out of it after that even now. I normally try to do it on a day before my day off, but it just didn’t work out this time.” Dean scratched his head and finally made eye contact again. “So that’s what I meant. The spacey afterwards thing.”

“I’m sorry, Dean.” Cas considered mentioning his father’s death when he was a child, but before he had a chance, Dean was speaking again.

“Yeah. No, it’s fine.” Dean’s eyes scanned the room, never falling on anything for more than a few seconds. “I mean, it happened like 15 years ago, so it’s not really a big deal. Hell, Sammy doesn’t even remember her. I just - I don’t like talking about it cause it’s kind of awkward to, and I just get weird after the visit cause...well, it’s a weird thing to have to do, I think. And…” Dean suddenly frowned hard, and looked very confused. 

“What?” Cas asked, concerned. He lifted himself from the counter where he’d been leaning.

“Are you going to Nepal?” Dean asked, shock in his voice and his expression as he turned back to Cas.

“What? No! I don’t. Maybe. No. I don’t know. What? Why?” Cas said in a rush. Dean cocked an eyebrow and looked even more confused. Cas swallowed and tried to get his heart rate back under control.

“You said you were planning a vacation, and this page,” Dean looked back towards Cas’ open laptop, “is for flights to Nepal.”

"That's not...It's...No," Cas said. "We haven't decided yet where we're going." He closed the lid to the laptop a he cleared his throat. "It's not Nepal though. That's... Are you hungry, would you like some lunch?" Or to do anything that gets us to stop talking about how I’m running away from how hot you are, Cas silently added, feeling light-headed.

"Um," Dean blushed a light pink and Cas had to look away. "I'm kind of starving actually. Whatever you're cooking smells awesome."

"It's spaghetti sauce." Cas managed a smile and said, "It's made with some of the tomatoes you gave me."

"Oh, cool. Um, look I wasn't meaning to pry or anything. About the vacation and stuff. I just looked over and saw that." Dean had crossed his right arm over to his left hip and had shrunk in on himself. Cas sighed, feeling like a fool. 

"No, no, it's fine. It's just..." Cas had to pull his eyes away and walk over to the stove, suddenly aware again of how close he was standing to Dean. "It's just a fantasy." Like you, thought Cas. He bit the inside of his cheek as anger at himself swelled.

“Anyway, it will take me about 10 minutes to cook the pasta,” Cas said, heading to the cabinet.

“I don’t want to be any trouble, Cas.”

A little too late for that, Cas thought with a fond smirk. “It’s no trouble at all, Dean.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one got ever so slightly angsty, but that's just how these two operate, I think. It will be back to our usually scheduled sexual frustration and fluff in the next bit.
> 
> Thank you again, everyone, for all of the amazing comments! If I haven't responded to you yet, I will, I promise! 'Cause you commenting makes me more and more eager to post. :) Lots of love to you all!


	13. Picnic In The Summertime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna takes Cas for lunch in the park. The events that unfold cause Cas to make a decision about the universe.

Cas wasn’t sure why the universe hated him, but he had pretty much decided that it must.  At this point he was convinced that if he were to give in and move to Nepal, he’d find himself falling down a mountain, breaking both legs, and ending up with Dean somehow right in front of him, inexplicably topless in the snow. And Cas would still be forced to confront his perverted crush on the younger man.

_Definitely_ \- the universe definitely hated him. That was the only way to explain that the park where Anna wanted to eat lunch just happened to be the one where Dean was playing soccer with his friends. Probably beefing up for his little league game or whatever the equivalent was for soccer. Cas frowned; temporarily distracted by trying to figure out if he knew the right word for it.

Then Dean shifted as he kicked and suddenly Cas had forgotten every word he ever knew. Dean was playing soccer without a shirt. Covered in sweat. Moving those bowlegs around in extremely flexible ways.

“It’s too hot to be outside,” Cas insisted, petulantly, forcing his eyes away from the sight of a glistening, panting Dean.

“It’s not too bad in the shade…with the breeze…” Anna said, though she didn’t sound as if even she were convinced.

“I don’t understand why we had to eat here.” Cas took a bite of his sandwich and then glared at the table.

“You used to love having picnics,” Anna replied. Cas could see the line forming between her trim brows, the one that signaled she was about to ask something Cas likely wouldn’t want to answer.

“I wanted to have lunch today because…” Anna sighed. “Well, because I’m concerned about you, Castiel. Is everything ok? You haven’t really seemed like yourself the last few times that we’ve spoken.”

Cas’ traitorous eyes flicked to his right just in time to observe Dean leaning backwards, in a full-body laugh, skimming his abs with a slim hand. Cas was almost positive he could see the freckles even from where he sat. He looked back to his sister in time to see the line in her forehead had gotten deeper. _Shit_. Not paying attention now was going to just make things even worse.

Cas scoffed as Anna’s question belatedly registered in his brain. “I’m fine!” he insisted, his voice betraying him as badly as his eyes. “I’m fine, Anna,” he added, in a slightly deeper tone. He took another bite of his sandwich, hoping it would stave off further conversation. It didn’t work.

“Cas, something is going on with you.” Anna set down her sandwich and Cas tried hard not to roll his eyes. It was too hot and Dean was too close and Cas was too annoyed to be having this conversation.

“You can insist that you’re fine, but we both know that isn’t true. I’m your sister,” she said, smiling a little, “you can talk to me.”

Cas continued obstinately chewing. Normally, he would talk to Anna for sure. However, he didn’t really feel inclined to elaborate to his sister how he’d become so obsessed with the jailbait that mowed his lawn that he was now having as many wet dreams as he’d had during puberty. Nor did he wish to mention that Dean himself had hit puberty around the same time iPhones had been released.

Cas trained his eyes to the table, though they flicked up a few times to catch bare skin above bowlegs.

Anna sighed hard, and Cas’ eyes rose to meet hers. “Gabriel said you were, and I quote, ‘angrily muttering at tomatoes’ when he was over yesterday, Cas. He said that you were distracted and jumpy the whole time. That just isn’t like you.” Anna gave a small, incredulous laugh. “It’s so bad that _Gabriel_ is noticing?”

Ok, maybe she had a point with the last bit. Cas frowned. “I was not…” Cas took a deep breath and controlled his tone. “I was not ‘angrily muttering at tomatoes’ and I…” Cas started to admit he’d kept hearing a damn lawnmower, but didn’t think that would help his case much. “I’m very caught up in a manuscript right now; it’s a very intense read.” Cas swallowed a bit of his sandwich to wash down the lie.

Cas managed to relax the tension that was coiling within his entire body just enough to be able to force a pleasant smile. “Now, may we please drop this and just enjoy our picnic? Let’s discuss our trip.” Cas could hardly enjoy a picnic when he knew Dean was so close and so half-naked, but he’d certainly enjoy it more without the current line of questioning.

The subject change worked to get Anna off his back for the moment, but did nothing to keep Cas from being distracted by Dean’s mere existence many yards away. It seemed that he would relax a bit whenever Dean had been around a little while, and they’d been talking – as if his brain became over-stimulated and just shut down after long periods in Dean’s presence. He’d eventually been fine when the two of them had lunch in Cas’ kitchen after Dean’s injury. As soon as Dean was gone, though, Cas would remember all of the reasons why it was bad to be nursing this crush and somehow not remember half of what he’d said to Dean during the conversation.

He did remember offering him and his brother the use of the pool again. He’d told Dean they could enjoy it while he was on vacation with Gabriel and Anna. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. He wouldn’t have to worry about taking care of it before he left, and he’d have them showing up and making it look as if someone were home. Dean hadn’t said for sure whether he’d take Cas up on the offer, but seemed more inclined to once Cas had mentioned not worrying about the house as much if someone stopped by.

Cas ducked his head while Anna spoke about plane tickets, ostensibly to take a bite of sandwich, but his eyes went into such a powerful side-long glance that it hurt. He could see Dean turning to kick the ball as it came towards him, all of his muscles working in time together. Cas made a noise somewhere in the back of his throat. His gaze shot back to the table and he tried to cover the sound with a cough.

“Are you ok?” his sister asked.

Cas waved away her concern and took a sip of his drink. “It was too big to swallow,” he replied. The sarcastic little shit that was the voice in his head wouldn’t let that go without a crude remark involving Dean, and Cas felt his cheeks warm.

Cas shifted on the built-in bench of the picnic table so that he couldn't as easily skim his eyes over to where Dean played. Maybe if he couldn't see him, Cas could focus. It worked for a little while, until Cas could hear Dean's laughter in the distance and could picture him throwing his head back, green eyes sparkling. Then Cas remembered the way Dean smiled at him during that impromptu lunch. Every time Cas had succeeded in making him laugh, the sound would be followed by that fucking smile.

Cas got lost in the memory and then lost the thread of the conversation and Anna's frown line showed itself again.

Luckily for Cas, Anna’s phone happened to ring at that moment. Maybe the universe didn’t hate him completely? She grabbed the phone from her purse and made a face as she looked at the screen. “I’m sorry, I need to take this. It’s work. I’ll make it as quick as I can.” She pushed away from the table and took a few steps away before answering.

Cas shifted uncomfortably in his seat, reluctantly turning more towards Dean again. Then he wiped his mouth with a napkin and hesitantly let his eyes wander back to where Dean was. He and his buddies were apparently taking a break, as Dean now stood to the sidelines, wiping his chest with a towel.

Then Dean started gulping down water and somehow that was even more pornographic than rubbing himself down had been. Cas’ eyes rolled in his head as he made himself look away. He shifted in his seat again, though now the discomfort was for a totally different reason.

His mind wandered back to the meal he’d shared with Dean. It tried to wander to the all the sounds Dean had made when he’d first taken a bite of Cas’ homemade pasta sauce, and the spark that had gone through Cas’ body when their knuckles had grazed as Cas had taken Dean’s empty plate from the counter. Cas’ eyes narrowed as he stared off into the grass and he forced his mind back to the conversation that had taken place, instead.

He’d eventually mentioned the death of his father, as casually as one could do such a thing. Dean had seemed relieved that Cas understood, at least in part, what Dean had experienced. Dean had mentioned his latest repairs to the car he was restoring. He’d even been gracious enough to offer Cas a ride, even though Cas knew it was just a friendly bit of small talk.

Cas looked up and frowned at his sister. She was still on the phone, and his thoughts needed some interference or he was just going to continue to sit and think about Dean. Or worse, turn and continue to watch him. At that thought, Cas’ head moved slightly and he scanned for Dean in the field.

He wasn’t there.

Cas’ breath sped up and his shoulders drooped as he realized the field was now empty aside from a couple of stragglers packing up the last of their stuff. Dean and his friends had apparently dispersed and were heading out. However, the panic that Cas felt when he’d seen the empty space was nothing compared to what rose up when he realized that Dean wasn’t on the field because he was headed straight towards Cas.

Cas’ head snapped back to where he could stare at the table. It had to have been his imagination. Dean’s car was likely just parked in the nearby lot; there’s no way Dean could have caught him looking. Maybe if he kept his head turned towards the table and Anna, Dean wouldn’t notice him.

“Cas?” Dean asked as he neared. Cas barely kept from cringing as he swallowed and looked towards Dean. Dean’s brow was knit, as if he’d been trying to decide if it was indeed Cas at the table.

“Hello, Dean.” Cas tried to plaster on a non-creepy smile. He also tried to keep his eyes firmly at Dean’s face, as the younger man had yet to don his shirt.

“Heya, man.” Dean pointed towards the hill in front of him. “I’m on my way to my car. Just played ball with some friends. You here by yourself?”

Cas ignored the ‘Or are you stalking me, you desperate old guy?’ question that he felt was implied. He was fairly certain that was just his imagination adding insult to injury. He shook his head and pointed towards Anna. He’d seemingly gone mute, unable to say more in Dean’s presence.

He felt a hot flash of unjustified jealousy as Dean appeared to check out his sister. He couldn’t blame the boy, he supposed, Anna was tall with blue eyes like his own and bright, red hair. She was attractive, no doubt. Cas’ eyes narrowed in a glare before he could stop them, but he’d calmed them to a more neutral state before Dean looked back to him.

“Girlfriend?” Dean asked.

“Sister,” Cas replied, not liking the way his own voice sounded. Then he noticed Dean relax as if Anna being Cas’ sister instead of girlfriend meant something good for Dean. ‘She’s too old for you, too!’ Cas wanted to yell. He clenched his jaw, instead.

Dean gave him that easy smile, and Cas felt simultaneously better and worse. “Ok, well, I uh...I guess I’ll see you around?” Before Cas had a chance to reply, Dean’s brow clamped down in a line again. “Oh, but you’re going on vacation, right?”

Cas wished he’d heard disappointment in Dean’s voice. “Yes, in just a few days.”

“Yeah. Ok. Well uh, have fun.” Dean gave a small smile as he ran his hand up the back of his head. Then he smiled a little wider. “You’ll tell me all about it when you get back, yeah?”

“Sure…” Cas replied. He wished Dean was a little less nice. It would be harder to pretend Dean liked him the way he did in his fantasies that way and easier to remember it was just Dean being friendly.

Dean waved and walked past Cas, presumably towards the car Cas couldn’t see from where he sat. Cas let out a small sigh as he watched Dean leave, his eyes lingering a little too long on the way Dean’s ass looked in his shorts and even longer on the way his strong calves bowed away from one another.

As Dean crested the hill and went out of sight, Cas pursed his lips and turned his attention back to in front of him. Where his sister stood, phone still to her ear. Her gaze, however, was focused intently on Cas. Her eyes were slits and her head was cocked to the side.

"Shit,” Cas muttered under his breath, as he ran his hand through his hair.

No, the universe definitely hated him. There was no doubt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for not updating sooner, mah lovelies! Real life events got in the way (how dumb!) including a nasty sunburn that has me not wanting to do much of anything but whine. Heh. I hope you enjoyed it, though! I have a small surprise for you in the next chapter and we're nearly to the really fun stuff. ;D


	14. Wipeout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stress and last minute changes in plans make Cas forget an important detail.

Cas scowled as he unbuttoned his pants and then stepped out of them. He was not in a good mood - having to rearrange your vacation suddenly would have that effect.

By this time today he was supposed to be on a beach, lying in the sand and sunshine. Cas figured he’d be less hot on a beach than he was at home at this point in the heat wave.

Instead, a business deal had fallen into Gabriel's lap at the last minute minute and Anna had gotten poison ivy on her legs during one of her house showings. So they'd been forced to scramble to postpone the trip.

Cas had considered going somewhere on his own in the meantime, but decided he didn't really have the time or money to do so. Maybe he could manage a day trip to one of the state parks?

The idea did little to brighten his mood. He adjusted his swim trunks and half-stomped into the kitchen, his bare feet slapping against the floor tiles.

Cas set down the towel he'd brought with him and grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge. Normally he avoided bringing glass near the pool, but he was going to make an exception. He needed a drink.

After the depressing news about his vacation - and the hectic stress of trying to get everything re-booked and explaining the situation to his boss - the last few days had not been good ones.

Right now, he just wanted to relax. He wanted to swim and drink and forget the real world for a little while. He wanted to glide through the water and pretend everything was that fluid and easy. He took a long pull of the beer and then carried it and his towel outside.

Cas dove into the water, the sudden shock of coolness hitting his body. The water felt amazing around him, and it quickly soothed his tension as he worked his way from one end of the pool to the other. After a few laps, he returned to his beer by swimming up to the edge near where he'd placed it. He downed nearly half in one long draw, then propped himself on the side of the pool with his arms, letting the water lap at him.

After several minutes of lingering at the edge, he downed another quick gulp of beer and went fully back into the water. With thoughts of free diving during his eventual vacation on his mind, Cas began practicing staying under. It was while he was submerged that he heard what sounded vaguely like voices, one low and one slightly higher. It was so muffled, Cas wasn't completely sure he hadn't imagined it.

Cas sprang up, gasping for air, and was greeted with sounds of shock. A sense of fear tingled at his spine as he shook his head and wiped harshly at his eyes to see who had managed to steal their way onto his property. Cas' jaw dropped and fear was replaced with something else entirely when he saw Dean Winchester standing before him. Cas blinked rapidly as his brain tried to process how and why Dean had appeared and who the person was behind Dean's arm, clearly being shielded.

If Dean's rapid blinking back was any indication, he was just as surprised to see Cas.

Oh. Oh, _no._ Sudden flashes of memories sideswiped Cas. He had told Dean he could use the pool while Cas was out of town. Cas was supposed to be out of town. Cas was supposed to be out of town and now Dean was there to use his pool. _Shit_.

It wasn’t as if he’d forgotten about Dean – Hell, he’d had another sex dream about him just last night. It was just with everything else going on and all of the stress…

"I uh -" Cas began, interrupting Dean as he tried to speak as well.

"Shit, sorry you -" Dean had started.

The two men looked at each other for another long second, Cas moving his arms to keep afloat, Dean standing stock-still and clearly shaken. A shaggy head peeked out from behind Dean's shoulder and gave Cas an amused, but confused, look.

"Um," Dean said before clearing his throat. "Did I get the date wrong? You were supposed to leave yesterday for your vacation, right?" Dean's shock and sense of protectiveness over the person Cas had realized was probably his brother had apparently given way to guilt and confusion.

"No! You, yes, you're - I mean, that is... No, you didn't have the date wrong. I was supposed to leave, but...but we didn't." Cas blinked, suddenly mute again. He swallowed. "It...we postponed." Goddamn, Cas, how the hell did you get a job as a book editor? asked his inner voice, annoyed. You can't even string a sentence together.

"Um..." Dean tightened his lips together and looked around for a moment.

"You're welcome to stay." Cas had obviously lost his mind entirely as his mouth now formed words without any input from his brain.

"You gonna introduce me?" said the head next to Dean's. A skinny teen stepped out from behind Dean's arm that was still raised protectively.

"Oh! Um yeah, Sammy this is Cas," Dean said. Sammy shot him a disapproving look but then smiled and waved at Cas. Dean obviously caught the look as he rolled his eyes and said, "Cas, this my brother _Sam_.”

"It's nice to meet you," Sam nodded. "Sorry we scared you."

"It's good to meet you too. And it's ok, I'm afraid it's my own fault and I clearly startled you as well."

Cas wiped his wet hair away from his face and said, "Dean's mentioned you several times."

Sam grinned. "Yeah, he talks about..." There was another look exchanged between the brothers, one Cas didn't understand. "... _me_ a lot," Sam finished, putting an odd emphasis on the one word as he glared at Dean.

"Uh, so yeah, we should probably go," Dean said suddenly, looking at his feet.

"No, please," Cas replied a little too enthusiastically. "Just because my plans changed doesn't mean yours should be ruined as well."

"Yeah, Dean," Sam turned to face his brother, "he said it's ok." Dean looked unconvinced and Cas was about to speak up again when Sam asked, "Please?"

Dean pursed his lips and Cas' eyes were drawn to sudden dimples. "You're sure?" Dean asked.

Cas nodded. "Of course. It's fine."

Dean shrugged. "Yeah, ok." Sam raised his fist in the air in victory and walked over towards the stairs into the pool to drop the towel he carried.

"Thanks, man," Dean said to Cas, with a lopsided smirk. Then he smiled and Cas involuntarily smiled back, feeling warm all the way through. Dean dropped the olive green duffel he'd been holding, letting it fall near the edge of the pool. He squatted down to unzip it and get his own towel.

Cas' plan of keeping his word and letting the brothers use his pool had a flaw - one which abruptly occurred to Cas as Dean's calves flexed under his weight and a solid brick of muscle was carved out for Cas' view. He tore his eyes away as Dean called Sammy's name and then tossed him a bottle of sunscreen. Cas rubbed his eyes and silently swore at himself.

"So," Sammy began, "that sucks about your vacation, dude."

"Yeah, especially since it was stressing you out so much to plan it," Dean chimed in.

Cas gave a small smile to them both. "Unfortunately, it couldn't be helped. We'll go later, though."

"What happened, anyway? Nothing bad, I hope?" Dean asked, as his hand raised to the back of his neck to pull his shirt over his head. As he stripped, Cas swam towards the shallower end - afraid his lungs and legs might give out at any moment.

"Um, Gabriel... That's my brother," he explained, looking to Sam as he did. Sam nodded as if he knew, which Cas thought was odd, but he continued. "He had a sudden business thing come up. And my sister, Anna, got poison ivy."

"Oooh, not cool!" Dean said, grimacing. "I got into that mess last summer on a job. It _sucks_. This the sister from the park?"

Cas' reply of "Yes," was more curt than he'd intended, but he didn't like how his gut felt remembering the way Dean had looked Anna over. Nor did he enjoy remembering his sister interrogating him about Dean.

Cas had recalled the bungled phone call with Anna, when he'd insisted the 'kid on his lawn' was not a kid, and opted not to admit Dean's employment. He'd just told her that Dean lived in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, that had just opened him up to a new line of questioning about since when he knew any of his neighbors.

Cas sighed and was relieved to see Sam and Dean both walking towards the diving board. Maybe if they all just swam, he'd feel better and less awkward. If nothing else, Dean's body would mostly be submerged under the water and not easily seen. Cas was grateful that at least Dean's swimming attire in real life was a pair of fairly long shorts instead of the tiny trunks Cas had imagined.

Soon enough, the three of them were swimming and talking and Cas’ awkwardness had faded somewhat. He did well at keeping his eyes from roaming too freely over Dean’s body and face. Sam helped with that, inadvertently, by being a welcome distraction which kept Cas grounded in reality. Cas had discovered they actually had a few things in common, including some favorite books.

Cas did well keeping his eyes to himself that is until they all agreed it was time to get out for drinks and something to eat. Sam and Dean happened to be closer to the shallow end, near the stairs, than Cas was and they climbed out of the pool before he had made it halfway across.

So Cas got a full view of Dean exiting the pool. Dean exiting the pool sopping wet, and wearing only shorts. Shorts which were weighed down by the excess water and skimming dangerously close to being obscene.

Cas’ throat went dry and his heart stopped before suddenly thundering back to beating double speed. He was pretty certain he’d actually just died. Time had definitely stopped, so maybe he was just a spirit now.

Dean’s shorts sagged with the water and revealed deep hip notches, which water droplets clung to the way Cas wished he could. Dean’s abs were more defined than Cas had remembered them. It was probably an effect of the exercise and the water, but maybe the universe had just come up with new ways of torturing him.

Dean tugged at his shorts, but with little effect, and it just caused Cas’ eyes to go to his arms and then skim over his chest and then his face. Dean’s nipples were pert and he was licking droplets away from his lips as toweling his head had caused water to run down his face. His eyelashes clung together and darkened and made his eyes shine.

Time sped back up. “You comin’, Cas?” Dean asked, as he ruffled his hair more with the towel.

A twisted part of Cas’ brain wanted to reply with, “Touch me and I will be,” but he choked down the response and instead cleared his throat.

“N-n-No, I uh… I’ll - I’ll follow in- in just a minute. You know whu-how...Er. That is...” Cas swallowed. “You know the way to the kitchen, go ahead and get you some drinks from the fridge.”

Dean nodded. “All right.” Sammy had already headed towards the porch and was waiting patiently so Dean followed after. Cas turned as he heard the click of the screen door. He dove straight down to the bottom of the pool, letting out all his air so he would fully sink. He would let his body’s sense of self preservation overcome the semi-erection he was now sporting.

Cas sat beneath the water, his eyes shut tight, until his lungs burned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UNF. Dean covered in water is my jam. Heh. As always, I really hoped you enjoyed this latest bit, lovelies! I'll respond to all of your awesome comments ASAP, I've been super busy this past week. (Seriously, you have no idea how much I appreciate every single comment I've gotten on this fic. You guys have been absolutely amazing and I love you.)


	15. Hot Fun in the Summertime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas comes up for air long enough to spend some more time with Sam and Dean, only to get himself into bigger trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to give a quick shout-out to my awesome Beta [wannaliveindeansdimples](http://archiveofourown.org/users/wannaliveindeansdimples), because without her eye for detail and helpful tweaks and comments, my fics would not be nearly as good. (And would have way more typos. Heh.) She is an awesome, fantastic writer and I learned everything from her so please go shower her in some kudos, too.

Cas walked into the house, taking a deep breath and rubbing at his hair with a towel. There was the sound of terse whispers as he neared the back door, but all was quiet as he opened it and entered the kitchen.

Dean gave him a smile, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. Cas recognized the look on Sam's face from his own experience as a little brother. It was one of annoyance and defeat.

"Everything ok?" Dean asked. His eyebrows rose and he glanced at Cas up and down, as if suspicious.

"Er, yes. I'm planning to freedive on vacation - I just wanted to get one last breathing practice in." The lie had some truth to it and that would have to do. “Is uh...is everything ok in here?” he asked, not really wanting to intrude on any family drama and suddenly feeling awkward for all new reasons.

“Yeah, everything’s good,” Dean said brightly, with a large smile. Sam nodded innocently, his eyebrows raised.

Cas saw the towels on the kitchen stool and seized the opportunity for another few moments away from Dean's naked torso. "Let me hang these over the shower rod to dry," Cas said as he gathered them up. "There are chips in the pantry and there should be dip in the refrigerator. Please, help yourselves until we can make something more substantial."

Cas walked to the bathroom quickly, but didn't manage to escape without his eyes being pulled towards the deeply defined hip notches that jutted above the scandalously low waistband Dean's shorts. He was never able to escape those, it would seem.

When he came back into the kitchen it was to the sound of playful arguing, the kind at which siblings excel.

"Have you eaten anything healthy today?" Sam's voice came across on a laugh.

"Hey, my pancakes this morning had blueberries."

Cas caught the rolled eyes of the younger Winchester and he smiled. Dean was scooping up a huge pile of dip onto a small chip. Dean caught the look as well, apparently, and sighed.

Dean looked at Cas. He smirked and jerked his head towards Sam. "This coming from the kid that could pack away 5 burgers if given the chance."

"Yeah, but I don't live on them."

Dean snorted. "Next time I'll put extra lettuce and tomatoes on my burger. Will that make you happy?"

"How will you fit them under the bun with all the bacon?" Sam deadpanned.

Cas smiled and started to ask what they'd like to eat, but then wondered if there was anything they both could agree on. Before he could get any further than that thought, he was interrupted by the shrill ringing off his phone. Cas frowned when he saw Anna's name pop up on the display screen. He gritted his teeth, but answered it anyway.

"I'm so miserable, Cas!" his sister whined without a hello. "Poison ivy is stupid."

Cas let out a small sympathetic laugh. "I'm very sorry," he said as he opened the refrigerator and scanned the contents. He started to ask if Dean wanted a beer and then the word 'underage drinking' flashed brightly in his mind, all red and capitalized.

"I can't do anything," Anna continued. "It's awful. We were supposed to be enjoying the beach!"

"I'm well aware," Cas replied, his continued annoyance at the lack of vacation seeping through his tone.

Anna sighed deeply. "What are you up to? You're not moping like me, are you?"

“I was a bit," Cas admitted, "but I've actually been swimming with...friends."

"Oh yeah? Good. Is it Balthazar and Hannah? Tell them I said hi."

"No, it's...you don't know them." Cas became distracted as he spoke and missed the next thing Anna said because Sam had broken into a peal of laughter. It was quickly muffled by his hands cupped over his mouth, but still exuberant enough that Cas had to see what the fuss was about.

Cas followed Sam's gaze and saw that Dean's chip had broken. He was holding one half in his hand and looking down at his own chest. There, the other half of the chip lay in a huge mound of creamy, white dip which was slowly moving down Dean's still bare torso.

Cas pinched his lips to keep from laughing. Then his mind went to the gutter to linger for a moment before he could avert his eyes, and the laughter died away. As he looked up his eye met Dean's and Dean's whole body flushed a deep rosy pink before the younger man looked down again, pressing his lips together.

Dean swatted at Sam’s arm in a backhanded gesture, but it only served to make the younger brother laugh even harder. His face turned similarly pink, but Cas was pretty certain that was from the lack of oxygen as he gasped out semi-delirious laughs from behind his hands. Cas cleared his throat, stifling a smile once again. Then Dean dipped his finger in the dip to wipe it up, and stuck the finger into his mouth. He sopped at the full length of it, working it in his mouth to make certain it came out clean. 

Cas felt dizzy as his breath sped up and he swallowed dryly, hoping it wasn’t obvious that he was staring as Dean’s finger made another descent into the creamy dip that lay between his pecs. Then suddenly Cas frowned, slamming back into reality as he realized Anna had spoken during the commotion. “What did you say?” he said, voice dark and rough.

Anna didn’t seem to notice the change in tone and huffed out a small, snide laugh. “I asked if it was your  neighbor friend,” she teased. “The one from the park?”

Cas could practically hear the narrowing of Anna’s eyes as she asked it, and in turn he glared at the refrigerator with eyes like slits. Then his face fell into a neutral line. “I have to go now. Someone’s drowning,” he said in a voice as neutral as his expression.

“What?” Anna asked, clearly shocked.

The words poured quickly from Cas’ lips, but he did nothing to hide the sarcasm and disinterest that was laced through the monotone sound. “Yes, it’s very upsetting. Now they’re on fire, as well. I’ll have to let you go.”

He reached to touch the button to end the call right as Anna’s voice has croaked out “Cas” on an incredulous laugh. Cas flicked his tongue against the underside of his upper lip and then added, “Try not to fall into any more poison ivy.” He knew that last bit was unnecessary and maybe even a little mean, but he’d never responded well to Anna and Gabe poking their noses into his business.

Cas turned back around to find Sam and Dean – whose chest was now entirely sans dip – giving him bemused looks. “Siblings,” he muttered with a shrugged shoulder, as if that was somehow a full enough explanation.

Apparently, though, it was, as the brothers looked at one another and nodded as if it made perfect sense. Of course, he supposed it would to them now that he thought about it.

Cas listed off various ingredients from the pantry and refrigerator that could be made into sandwiches and soon enough the three of them had cobbled together what they wanted. He noticed Dean dramatically dropped extra lettuce and tomato on his while giving Sam a dirty, flat look very similar to the one Cas had given to the phone. It made Cas smile.

Sam and Dean playfully talked and joked as they all ate, and Cas was surprised at how easily they included him. He knew that brothers and sisters could sometimes fall into a rhythm that left outsiders feeling…well, like outsiders. He’d alienated more than a few acquaintances when around Anna or Gabe. He didn’t get that vibe from the two Winchesters, though, despite what could and should have been an awkward situation.

It took a little while for Cas to realize that he was managing to hold the conversation comfortably while Dean was sitting in his kitchen wearing nothing but damp shorts. Once he’d realized it though, his mind immediately went back to paying attention to Dean’s muscles as much as the discussion. After that he was almost certain he’d replied in nothing but grunts and leering.

Eventually, after Cas had persuaded his brain to be control of his body and had begun enjoying the company fully again, it was decided the two brothers should probably be making their way home. They were all smiles and laughter as Cas walked with them to collect their things from the pool, until Sam’s face suddenly fell and he looked a little sad.

“So, uh, I guess this means we won’t get to try night swimming, huh?” he asked Dean.

Cas looked to Dean as well, his mouth forming words, but before he could speak Dean was talking.

Dean palmed at the left side of his neck with his right hand. “After you’d talked about liking to swim at night and everything, I told Sammy that maybe we could try it while you were away…But since your vacation fell through…” 

Cas pushed away the brief wondering if that meant Dean had talked about him, and instead smiled at the now sheepish-looking Sam. “Who am I to say no to night swimming?” Cas ignored the voice in his head saying, ‘A crazy person that’s who you are. Because semi-naked,  wet Dean is obviously exactly what you need more of in your current deranged state, right? Idiot.’

“It is the best time for it,” he managed to squeak out before his brain shut down the speaking bits.

Sam and Dean’s faces both lit up and Cas knew he was doomed. Their smiles clearly signaled his defeat and the cruel universe’s triumph, as they meant semi-naked,  wet Dean was exactly what he’d be getting more of, whether he needed it or not.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh, you guys, we are getting so close to the end of Cas' summer! *vibrates with excitement* You have been the best and most supportive readers and I LOVE you. Wet Dean will return in the next chapter, cross my heart, and the updates should hopefully go back to being more regular. (Things have been really busy the past couple weeks and my writing and editing time has been limited which makes for a very sad and cranky Mahbbys, fo surious.) THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! for all of the kudos, comments, subscriptions, bookmarks - just everything. 
> 
> I love you. So many. All of it.
> 
> As always, I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter! I'll reply to any outstanding comments, ASAP. They mean the world to me, and make my day every single time, even if I've been slower in getting back to everyone lately.


	16. Lonely Summer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas gets a text and his mood plummets south. Until he gets a surprise.

Cas was annoyed with himself. Of course, that seemed to be his normal state of being this summer. He would bounce between annoyed with himself and horny, like some kind of socially dysfunctional ping pong ball.

He scowled, even more annoyed with himself. He couldn't even manage a simple metaphor lately.

As had been the case most of the season, his annoyance was due to his inability to be even fractionally rational when it came to a certain young landscaper. Emphasis on the young, he thought with a snarl.

Cas had invited Dean and his brother to go swimming again, this time at night. Had it been literally anyone else, Cas wouldn't be so nervous and flustered. And really, if he was honest with himself for more than two seconds, the problem wasn't feeling nervous or flustered. The real problem was that Cas was excited.

He was excited to see Dean again, and not just to see him - though Dean wet and half naked was a hell of a sight to behold - but to talk to him, and hear him laugh, and to...

Cas sighed, dragging his hand across his face. None of it mattered though, because Dean had sent a text earlier that said he wasn't sure if they'd be able to make that night - which had deflated Cas and was the real cause of his foul mood. And knowing that was why Cas was so annoyed with himself.

So Cas was stalking around the house, trying to keep himself busy. Trying, really, just to keep himself from checking his phone even more often than he did when expecting a work call. He'd cleaned the kitchen counters twice already and was considering cleaning the bathroom mirror for the third time.

Cas sighed again and ran his hand through his hair. He noted for approximately the 1000th time in the past few months that it needed cutting. He chewed his lip and seriously considered leaving right then to have it done. Then he could leave the house, text Dean not to come over.

That was the thought that stopped him, mid-step, as he was headed to grab his keys. He was halfway through the house already when he stopped dead in his tracks. If Cas left, the slim chance that he might see Dean would become a certainty that he wouldn’t.

Cas growled at himself and scraped his fingers across his scalp again as he stormed into the bedroom. He landed on the bed with a huff and stared at the ceiling. He was shaking one foot, still trying to work off his excess energy.

He wasn’t sure how long he lay there before he popped back up again. This time he headed to his closet, shucking his clothes as he went. He pulled out his swim trunks and stepped into them before leaving the room for a towel. Swimming would ease him. It would also make him think even more of Dean at first, and how Dean had looked - wet and shining - as he’d gotten out of the pool, but it would still get him moving. He would eventually get lost in the water and out of his own head for a while.

Cas glanced at the refrigerator as he walked through the kitchen on his way outside. Inside it were the burger patties he’d made that morning, before Dean’s text had come in. Cas had figured they’d all be hungry from swimming like they’d been the last time, and he’d thought it might be nice to have some burgers by the pool. He squinted at the fridge as he made a decision, and then walked over to it. He’d fire up the grill and have a burger by himself. And if doing so meant the grill would be warm just in case Sam and Dean _did_ show up…well, he tried not to think about that. It just reminded him how much he wanted to see Dean which in turned just made him more annoyed.

By the time Cas had gotten the grill going and grabbed himself a beer, he was already beginning to feel a little better. In addition, the sun was already beginning to cast longer shadow and the now-commonplace heat had begun to ever so slightly begin to relent just a bit. The temperatures had stayed high, but were less high than they’d been the week before, and every drop in even a single degree was welcome this summer.

Cas left his beer at the table and walked around to dive into the water. The instant shock of coolness ran through his body and relaxed him almost immediately. He deftly worked his way through the water, practicing every stroke he knew, focusing on his movements and ignoring every thought his mind tried to shove into his way. He mindfully discarded every idea that involved his upcoming vacation, the looming conversation with Anna about his recent behavior, things he needed to do for work, and, most importantly, Dean Winchester.

The exercise of pushing his body through the water and focusing on his breathing soon enough had him relaxing and he began to exist within the moment instead of within his anxiety and tension.

Until he rose from the water, throwing his head back, and opened his eyes to see Dean Winchester standing at the edge of the pool clad in a thin white tank top and a pair of swim trunks that were just this side of obscene.

Cas was vaguely aware of Dean’s cocked eyebrow and intense gaze before Cas sputtered and flailed in the water for a moment at the shock. He blinked a few times and when he looked back to Dean’s face it was contrite.

“Dude, I even knocked this time and everything. I’m really not trying to give you a heart attack, man.” Cas briefly wondered if Dean was insinuating he was old, but he cast the thought from his mind. Dean then padded over to where Cas’ towel was and dropped his duffel bag next to it before peeling the cotton tank over his head. Cas stared at him in disbelief as he dropped it to the ground and turned back to face Cas. “What?” Dean asked, seeming genuinely confused by Cas’ surprised look.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so, so sorry for being MIA, guys. Real life kicked my butt and then GISHWHES happened and I had no time to write or post. I LOVE you guys and I feel awful that I haven't been around and replied to comments and everything. I've replied to most of them now and I hope to get to the rest by the end of the night. I hope you liked this chapter! Another one will be coming much faster than this one did! We're so close to the end... o_O


	17. Lazy Summer Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas' night is just chock-full of unexpected, but not unwelcome, surprises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK! SO! Note to self: NEVER say a chapter is coming faster than the last. Heh.
> 
> I really do apologize for the wait, you guys! Since I last posted, I quit my job, went on a 13 state, 2 week road trip with my beta [wannaliveindeansdimples](http://archiveofourown.org/users/wannaliveindeansdimples/pseuds/wannaliveindeansdimples), went to Dallas Con on said road trip, returned home and had to take care of 2 weeks of stuff I couldn't do while away from home, and then my beta went traveling some more so edits couldn't happen and just.... Yeah. 
> 
> I'd planned to update from the road, but best laid plans and all that. (Stayed in state parks mostly instead of motels so no wifi like I'd expected.) The **GOOD** news is that means I did however have plenty of time to write and so not only is this now totally complete, but I've also been writing other stuff. 
> 
> There are 3 chapters after this one, but 1 of those is just the epilogue. And I **_will_** be posting Dean's perspective as well. (It will be posted as another, separate fic.)

Cas blinked and looked around for the younger Winchester brother. “I didn’t think you were… Where’s Sam?” Cas looked back to Dean, his eyes wide and his eyebrows tucked together in a line.

Dean gave Cas a confused smile which quickly turned to a frown. “Wait, did you not get my text?”

“I did. It led me to believe you likely wouldn’t be coming…” Cas bobbed in the water, feeling lost. “When you hadn’t arrived by now I just…”

Dean sighed and ran his hand across his forehead. “I sent one after that,” he said, quietly. “Where I said Sam wasn’t gonna make it, but I’d be coming?” Dean crossed an arm over himself and asked, “Is it not ok that I’m here?” Then he made a move towards his duffel, “I can head out, it’s cool.”

“No!” Cas swam a few feet towards Dean. “No, it’s fine, I just…” He looked around and realized his phone was still lying inside the house. He shook his head. “I never got the message. It’s fine that you’re here, though.”

And nearly naked. And about to be wet. And making me unable to remember how to breathe. Cas’ brain had continued the conversation, though mutely. He took a deep, shuddering breath as his brain suddenly remembered the usually involuntary task of breathing and forgot to continue freaking out. “Is everything ok with Sam?”

Dean shrugged and walked over to sit on the edge of the pool. “Yeah, he’s fine. One of his friends invited him to something that he could only do tonight, I guess? I don’t know. It was all kind of sudden and last minute and he insisted he couldn’t get out of it, said I should just come since…” Dean shrugged again and shook his head a little. “Anyway, you’re sure it’s ok that I’m here?”

Cas was being hypnotized by Dean’s legs dragging back and forth in the water and he had to snap himself out of it in order to respond. “Yes. I uh...” Cas shook his head, trying to clear his mind. “I have the grill going for dinner. I made hamburgers in case you two were able to join me.”

Dean’s dazzling grin truly showed up for the first time that night. “Oh yeah? That’s awesome. Thanks.” Dean slid into the water then, apparently satisfied that it was ok for him to be there.

Cas licked his lips and began swimming again. Anything to get his mind doing something other than picturing what lay beneath the strip of fabric at Dean’s pelvis. Without Sam as a buffer, a wet Dean was even more difficult to contend with and Cas had more than enough difficulty as it was.

Dean dove under the water and swam away, then back towards Cas. He popped up entirely too close for Cas’ comfort. “Water’s great,” Dean said with a smile, wiping his short hair away from his forehead.

Cas nodded, his voice missing thanks to Dean’s proximity to him. The sun was dulling with every moment and Cas said a silent prayer that soon it would be too dark to see just how many muscles and freckles lay before him.

They swam in silence for a little while. Then Dean coaxed Cas slowly into speaking until they were conversing easily as they enjoyed the water. Dean told him how things were going at Singer’s Landscaping and the most recent things he’d done to the car he was restoring. Then he asked about what kinds of manuscripts Cas had been reading and if he and his siblings had gotten their vacation plans worked out.

Eventually, Dean said, “Man, Cas, I gotta say, you were right about swimming at night.” He was floating around on his back now as Cas propped against one wall and kicked lightly with his feet. He’d just returned to the pool from drinking some of his now-warm beer. Dean turned his face to look at Cas, then he turned his whole body and swam a little closer to him and the edge of the pool. “Thanks for letting me come,” Dean said, quietly and with a smile.

Cas ignored the dirty jokes his mind provided and just smiled. “Anytime,” he croaked out. He glanced at the grill. “Would you like to get out and have burgers?”

“I am always up for burgers!” Dean grinned then and held up his hand, his fingers splayed widely. “Besides, I’m startin’ to get all pruny.”

Cas smiled and swam over to the ladder. He stalled as he placed his foot on the top step, and pushed himself off to turn to Dean and speak. Instead, he nearly ran into Dean as the younger man had swum up behind him so quickly that Cas hadn’t realized he was there. Cas managed to avoid smacking into him full speed, but his hand and arm grazed against Dean’s chest and torso.

Even in the sparse blue glow of the few garden lights that Cas had around, he could see the wide-eyed look Dean gave him as they both mumbled apologies and ducked their heads. Cas turned back to the ladder - what he’d planned to say completely forgotten by the sudden contact. His heart was pounding and his entire body tingled.

They dried off without speaking and Dean followed Cas silently into the house, carrying his duffel. As they entered the kitchen, Dean cleared his throat and said, “I’m gonna change into some dry clothes. Where’s your bathroom?”

Cas directed him to the guest bathroom before heading to his bedroom to put on his own dry clothing. He flung his swim trunks over the shower rod with a huff, angry at himself once again for his reactions to Dean. After he’d changed, he walked barefoot back into the kitchen. Dean was already standing at the counter, his hair smoothed back from his face, his own feet also bare.

Somehow, the jeans that hung off of Dean’s hips were slung so low they provided even more skin in places that the small swim trunks had covered. They dipped so low that Cas’ mouth went dry at the narrowed angles of Dean’s hips. Cas’ breath sped up and he swallowed uncomfortably, prying his eyes away from the faded denim and the tanned skin above it.

The two men went back out to cook the burgers. Cas was grateful the sun had fully set and that his eyes were taking a while to adjust again to the relative darkness of the patio after having been inside. He found if he stared at the grill, the glowing redness made it even more difficult to focus on the younger man that was sitting near him.

Cas purposefully sat down to eat as far from Dean as he could without seeming rude and tried to focus on the food. Then Dean moaned into his burger and Cas nearly popped an erection solely from the sound. He closed his eyes and choked down his own bite of food. Dean made a few more appreciative noises before seeming to realize how he sounded.

“Sorry,” Dean said before taking a sip of his drink. “Been a while since I’ve had a real burger cooked on a grill. They’re really good, Cas.”

“I’m glad you like them.” If Cas’ voice was a bit rougher and deeper and more breathless than usual, well, maybe Dean would think it was from the smoke of the grill.

Dean got them started talking again, always able to keep the conversation going even as Cas’ malfunctioning brain would stutter at something Dean said or a noise he made. Somehow they wound up on the subjects of books thanks to questions Dean had about Cas’ work. Dean seemed particularly interested in learning what books were Cas’ favorites, likely curious as to what an editor read in his down time. It was nice to pretend for a few moments that maybe he was indeed as interested in Cas as Cas was in him, even if it was for completely different reasons.

“One I’ve been thinking of rereading soon is by the author Tom Robbins. Have you heard of him?” Cas asked as he began gathering up the remains of food and the few dishes they’d used. He could just make out Dean shaking his head. “It’s called ‘Still Life with Woodpecker’ and it’s…well, I’ll just let you read the blurb once we’re inside.”

They cleaned up in silence and then walked into the house. The light from the kitchen illuminated Dean as they walked through the screened porch and Cas was overcome again by just how hypnotizing Dean’s eyes were, even when the light was low and they were more brown than green. He really was absolutely beautiful. Cas looked away, unable to make any further eye contact.

Cas glanced at the clock and assumed Dean would be headed out shortly. The thought made him sad, which made him angry, and he became  a ball of tension once again as he replaced condiments and otherwise took care of the remains from dinner. Dean helped where he could and then stood to the side, seemingly watching Cas. The scrutiny just served to make Cas feel even more uncomfortable.

When Cas looked up to Dean, and saw that the younger man was actually not looking at him at all, but instead looking towards the living room, he felt disappointed. He frowned, feeling stupid, and rose up to his full height as he finished loading an empty container into the dishwasher.

“I guess you’ll…” he began as Dean also started speaking.

“So where’s that book?” Dean asked.

Cas’ brain skidded to a halt and he blinked at wide, green eyes. “What book?”

“The woodpecker or whatever book - the one you said you were gonna reread.”

“Oh,” Cas said, confused. He was more than happy to share the book with Dean, but he’d kind of assumed Dean was just being friendly rather than having any real interest. Cas tamped down the feeling of buoyancy that shot through him at the thought that Dean did in fact want to know more about things Cas enjoyed.

Cas walked towards the living room, motioning for Dean to follow him. “It’s in here.”

They stopped at the bookshelf nearest the kitchen doorway and Cas’ breath caught as Dean slid in unexpectedly close to his side. The reality that Dean was still shirtless then hit Cas fully and he was certain he could feel warmth radiating from the man. Cas tried to keep his breathing under control, lest Dean hear how he was panting like an obscene caller at the closeness. He wouldn’t be surprised if Dean could hear his pounding heart as it was.

They looked over Cas’ books for a few minutes, as Dean began asking questions which prompted Cas to pull at and point out various books as they talked. Eventually he got around to pulling the Robbins book from the shelf and handing it to Dean. As the paler man looked it over in one hand, Cas busied his mind skimming the titles on the shelf, trying to decide what Dean might be interested in reading.

It was when Cas started to lean in to pull out another book that Dean leaned down to replace the one he held. Their faces were instantly mere inches apart and Cas was certain then that neither could hear anything over the sound of his wildly beating heart. He definitely heard nothing but the blood rushing through his veins.

Cas stared, wide-eyed and transfixed, as dazzling green eyes darkened and then seemed to flick to his mouth. When they did, Cas, like a man drugged, watched himself lean forward as if out of his own body, and graze his lips against Dean’s. An electric, exhilarating current ran through his body, weakening his usually strong knees.

Dean’s lips were soft and warm, ever so slightly damper than Cas’ own as they dragged across Cas’ larger mouth. Cas’ tongue darted out to begin to play at those soft lips, before the heady rush of adrenaline and lust was replaced with sudden, crippling, rational thought. Reality crashed onto him and Cas jerked back, leaving an obviously stunned Dean in his wake.

“I’m sorry,” Cas said, taking a hurried step back and nearly tripping over a stool behind him in the process.

Then, in time together, he and Dean both said “I’m sorry.”

Cas couldn’t even take in Dean’s expression, his own mind freezing and blanking at what he’d just done. “No, I…It’s…I…” he stuttered and looked away, his eyes moving rapidly trying to find some kind of anchor to save him.

“I shouldn’t have kissed you,” he almost pleaded as Dean also spoke. It took a split second for Cas to realize that what Dean had said was…

“I’m sorry I kissed you. I just…”

Cas’ head whipped up so he could once again face Dean. They frowned at each other and said, once more in unison, “Wait…what?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! (Maybe it was worth the wait? I really, really hope?) ((If not, hopefully the upcoming smut will be... ;) ))
> 
> (Oh, also, other good news - I have now seen the SPN cast in person which means more detailed descriptions. Heh. Just sayin'.)


	18. Long Hot Summer Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas may just get what he's been wanting all summer.

Cas practically flung himself at the couch, the task of standing upright and processing what had just happened and what was just said, proving far too much for his brain. He sat down heavily, and put his head in his hands.

“Wait…” Dean said, his brow wrinkling and his eyes closing before Cas looked away again and stared at the floor.

Dean came to Cas’ side and perched on the edge of the arm of the couch. “Did you…” Cas could tell from his peripheral vision that Dean was looking at him, leaning in, trying to get Cas to meet his eye. Cas remained steadfastly looking anywhere but at Dean, hoping his heart wasn’t going to beat right out of his chest and land on the floor in front of him.

Dean ducked down some more and slowly slid to one knee on the floor, persistent in his goal to get Cas to meet his eye. “Cas,” Dean said, his voice barely more than a whisper. Dean swallowed audibly. “Cas, did you want to kiss me?”

Cas, at last, lifted his head from his palms and let his hands drop to between his knees. He looked at Dean, knowing he must look as spooked as he felt. When he saw that Dean’s expression didn’t show any signs of being upset, but instead showed the expected shock mixed with unexpected hope, it finally sunk in what Dean had said when Cas had pulled away.

Dean had thought he’d kissed Cas.

Cas’ eyes stayed steady on Dean’s, as he tried to work out what was happening. He was unable to speak, seemingly frozen in time. Then Dean’s eyes flicked from Cas’ eyes to his mouth and back. Then once more, down to his lips. Dean seemed to look at them a short moment before meeting Cas’ gaze with an altogether different expression.

Dean leaned in slowly, and Cas could feel his breath against his face. He watched Dean’s eyes flutter shut as he closed the space between them and soft, slightly damp lips slowly brushed against his. Cas closed his eyes as Dean’s lips caught his bottom lip in a slight pucker, sliding against it.

Cas’ brain gave up entirely and his body took over.

Dean’s lips parted to catch Cas’ again, but this time Cas’ tongue slid slowly from its resting place and against Dean’s perfectly soft lips. It slipped through and was greeted by Dean’s tongue which plunged against it, as if Dean had been starving for a kiss. Cas’ body moved backwards as Dean’s surged forward and up. Cas’ back hit the rear of the couch and Dean’s arms grabbed hold of his shoulders, his hands sliding between the couch and Cas.

Cas’ hands grabbed at anything they could find, and landed blissfully on Dean’s exposed hips. The bone dug lightly into Cas’ palms and he massaged at it, enthused that Dean was as hard and soft as he’d been imagining all summer. Cas could feel the heat of Dean’s naked torso through his thin tshirt and before he’d had time to think of how much he wished the shirt was gone, Dean’s hands were scrambling at the hem, lifting it so they could find purchase at Cas’ ribs.

It seemed like seconds, but also an eternity as they kissed, Cas trying eagerly to memorize every plane and curve and angle of Dean’s body. Dean’s bowlegs swung over Cas’ on the couch and he began to straddle him. Then Dean moved just right, and his pelvis rocked against Cas’. A hard, denim-covered, cock grazed against Cas’ in his slacks, and his body exploded with sensation. He pulled away from the kiss, panting. He swallowed as his eyes took in Dean’s now-wet mouth, flushed dark pink and red from kissing.

Cas’ brain chose that moment to rejoin him and he cursed it.

He looked up to meet Dean’s eyes, nearly wavering when he saw how dark with lust they were. “You’re 19,” he croaked. As if those two words would explain the myriad thoughts running through his head.

Dean looked confused, but let out a breathless laugh. “Yeah…” He drawled out the syllable with a bemused expression before cupping Cas’ neck with this hand to pull him in close again. When Cas didn’t easily come forward, intent on not letting this bad idea go any further, Dean’s eyes flicked back from Cas’ mouth to settle at his eyes once again.

The confusion in Dean’s expression bled through to something else Cas didn’t immediately recognize. Then Dean’s entire face hardened, his body becoming stiffer as he continued to straddle Cas’ lap. He leaned back, several inches, and studied Cas with heavily lidded eyes, almost looking down his nose at the older man. Cas caught the twitch of the muscle in Dean’s jaw.

Dean’s voice was low, and tinged with an unexpected anger when he spoke. “I’ve been raising my brother since I was four. Workin’ since I was 14. I have fought tooth and nail for almost everything I’ve got and I have more responsibilities than some people who are twice my age.”

Dean leaned back a little more, but his face softened ever so slightly. “You wanna stop this cause of some hang up you’ve got, cool.” Dean raised his brows and pursed his lips. “I’ll stop,” he said with a shake of his head and a shrug of his shoulders. “But I’ve been wanting to kiss you since I met you, Cas. And I’m not gonna let some stupid, arbitrary fuckin’ number ruin that if I can help it.”

“You…I’m…” Cas struggled to catch up. “I’m _29_ , Dean.” And yeah, maybe he was adding a few months, but the point still stood. Didn’t it?

Dean seemed to suppress a smile. “Wow, Cas, you’re right. That’s ancient. Huh.” Dean nodded, smirking. “You’re pretty hot for an old dude. Hotter than anybody else I know.” Dean leaned in and planted a small press of his lips to the corner of Cas’ mouth before looking up into Cas’ eyes. “And smarter.” Another press of his lips. “Way better built,” he whispered as his tongue slid to draw a line along Cas’ bottom lip. “Nicer.” He bit softly at Cas’ chin. “You make a mean burger,” Dean said on a chuckle as he bit against Cas’ neck, just below his ear. Then, breathlessly, he whispered against Cas’ ear. “And you make me harder than a fuckin’ rock cause I want you so bad, Cas.”

Cas growled, his hands coming up to grab at Dean’s shoulders and pulled Dean away from his neck and ear. Dean made a face as if he was about to admit defeat, but Cas couldn’t fully take it in as he was crushing their mouths together in a frenzied kiss, claiming all of Dean’s mouth as belonging to him. Dean moaned into Cas’ mouth, his whole body turning to putty in Cas’ hands, and Cas could only growl again.

Cas’ hands roamed, one snaking its way through Dean’s hair, and the other digging into his hip, only to move again moments later. Dean seemed to hold on for dear life, gripping tight at Cas’ body and at the couch in turns. “I’ve wanted…” Cas breathed between kisses.

“Me too,” Dean answered, just as hungrily.

Somehow they pulled away from one another long enough to get Cas’ shirt off. As it lifted over his head, Dean pulled back and admired him, letting out a long breath from between puffed up lips. “Shit, Cas.” He met Cas’ gaze and the unmasked look of want and desire was enough to make Cas lift up from the couch, grasping at Dean’s legs to take him up as well. Their mouths joined again and Dean chuckled against Cas’ lips as Cas carried him up and towards the bedroom. Dean’s legs bowed even more and wrapped tightly around Cas’ hips.

Cas didn’t know what the hell he was doing, but he’d stopped even trying to figure it out. His body and mind had been battling it out for months and now his body had won. _Dean_ ’s body had won. Weeks of pent up desire broke through the crumbling walls of Cas’ willpower and flooded him, nearly taking both men out in the process. His hands tried to be everywhere at once, his mouth instantly falling back to Dean’s lips or skin as soon as it had pulled away.

Cas was so overtaken by the feeling of Dean rutting against him as he walked that he had to pause on his way to the bedroom, pushing Dean’s back against the wall. Dean used the opportunity to push himself up a little more, and wrap his legs even more tightly around Cas, locking his ankles together. Dean bent down and bit at Cas’ neck as Cas’ hands ran up and down along the outer sides of Dean’s substantial thighs.

Cas opened his eyes, drinking in the sight of everything he’d been fighting looking at since the beginning of summer. The freckles along Dean’s bicep and the way that muscle bulged as he moved and clung to Cas. The way the shadows of his lashes hit his cheeks, darkening the freckles that lay there as well. The strong lines of a tanned neck and squared jaw. Cas realized Dean even had freckles on his eyelids, just a few, and it made him instantly want to know where else freckles might lie. He grunted as he pushed them back off from the wall and carried Dean to the bed.

Cas lay the two of them down on the bed as gently as he could in his agitated state. “I didn’t think…” Cas managed to mumble before Dean was reclaiming his tongue. Dean seemed loathe to let go of him, bucking up from the bed to keep their bodies touching in as many places as he could and scrambling at Cas’ body with his hands. Dean cupped his jaw with one hand as another slid down to make short work of Cas’ pants button. Cas groaned into Dean’s mouth as Dean’s rough fingers trailed the zipper downwards.

Cas tried to take all of the sensations in. The hard angles of Dean’s body covered in surprisingly soft skin. The roughness of his hands, with calluses formed by hard work, and the slick feel of his mouth. The way he writhed at Cas’ touch as if he’d been wanting – craving – Cas the way Cas had been him.

Cas willed himself to pull back from Dean, so that he could see him more fully. He wanted to commit the moment to memory. He’d been wanting it too long to let it slip away in a flash. He was rewarded with a whine from Dean that made his cock twitch against his slacks. Dean looked up at him, wanton and barefaced, eyes wide and mouth parted.

Cas brushed his hand along Dean’s jaw, his thumb near Dean’s pink mouth, and Dean’s tongue darted out as he turned his face into Cas’ hand. He caught Cas’ thumb in his mouth and sucked as his tongue circled the first knuckle. He was bold enough not to look away, but there was a vulnerability there that caught Cas unprepared. Cas’ mouth fell open and his brows knit as he sucked in a breath at the sight.

Dean pulled his face from Cas’ hand with a heavy-lidded look of desire. The spit-slick trail that glistened across Dean’s lips and cheek afterwards was possibly the sexiest thing Cas had ever witnessed. Cas’ brain momentarily blanked completely then as Dean confessed, “I want you,” in a wrecked tone. His hands once again grabbed at Cas’ hips and ass, pulling him forward against the edge of the bed with a jerk.

Cas landed on his hands, palms down on either side of Dean’s head, and immediately dropped his face to Dean’s. Then he dropped from his palms to his elbows, placing his entire length against the younger man. He kissed Dean hard, trying to distill weeks of longing into the kiss. Cas wanted Dean to know without any doubt how long he’d been wanting this, but could not find his voice. He had to hope he could get it across wordlessly with his tongue.

Cas’ right leg pushed up and to the side, spreading Dean’s legs a bit further, and scooting Cas higher on the bed. Their thighs were snug against each other, but their pelvises were too, and Dean rocked up and into Cas’ space. Cas felt the world slant and lost all sense of anything other than the nerves in his dick for a moment. “Ohh,” Cas groaned. The air rushed out of his lungs with an “Ah!” as Dean rutted again.

Dean’s hand caught between them momentarily as he slid his own zipper down. “Want you, Cas,” he whispered against Cas’ lips between deep kisses. The sound of his name in Dean’s mouth made Cas’ head spin even more. Suddenly it righted itself and Cas toppled back haphazard into reality.

“I don’t have a condom,” Cas muttered, ignoring how much of a whine his voice was and cursing his dry spell and lack of preparedness. The part of his brain that had been fighting his attraction to Dean tried to interject with a scathing boy scout joke, but Cas’ blood flow was too far south for him to pay it much attention.

Dean looked crestfallen for just a short moment, before crashing his mouth against Cas’ once more for another kiss. “It’s ok,” he said before their lips joined another time. “I do,” came his voice before his tongue licked at the roof of Cas’ mouth, just behind his teeth. “Wallet.” Another kiss. “Er…Kitchen?” Cas’ bottom lip was being suckled and then bitten. “Duffel.”

Cas let out a very undignified grunt at the assault from Dean’s mouth, and reluctantly pulled away. He licked his lips as his eyes skimmed over Dean and he reached down to zip his slacks back up so they wouldn’t fall. He let himself have a few strokes of his palm against the fabric of his boxers before moving to the zipper, though. “I’ll be right back,” he said, the words barely forming coherently in his mouth as he breathlessly drawled them.

Unfortunately, the walk to the kitchen, though it was hurried, gave Cas just enough time to think. He thought about the age difference, about how reality and fantasy rarely joined up neatly, how Dean was the kind of person who carried a condom in his wallet and Cas was most assuredly not. By the time he’d made it back to the bedroom there was decidedly too much blood in his brain and not nearly enough fueling his libido.

Cas looked at Dean, lying prone on his bed – gently stroking himself, which was just so very unfair – and walked over to him, holding the condom up. Dean gave him a smile that began crookedly on one side of his mouth before licking his lips and rising up to meet Cas. “Good, you found it,” he said, taking it from Cas. Dean rose up further and began kissing Cas again, cupping the back of his head in one hand and pulling him near.

“I never figured I’d get to use this,” Dean said on a laugh. “But I thought, hey, it’ll just be us and I should try optimism for once, right?” He grinned against Cas’ mouth. Cas just nodded, his hands slowly coming up to massage at Dean’s broad shoulders and defined biceps. He was trying to decide if Dean had just admitted he’d put the condom there in the hopes of sleeping with Cas specifically.

Cas still wasn’t sure – the blood was quickly leaving his brain again – but he was going to go with it and hope he was right, as it meant getting to sleep with Dean, instead of thinking and talking himself out of sleeping with Dean. The universe could judge whether that was a good decision or a bad one and punish him as it saw fit. Maybe tonight was its way of rewarding him. Maybe tonight was its way of digging him an even deeper hole. Either way, he could still move to Nepal.

Assuming, of course, he lived through the devastatingly amazing thing Dean was currently doing with his teeth and tongue along the angle of Cas’ hip.

Cas groaned and thrust forward, grabbing at Dean’s head, but unable to get a grip on the shortly cropped hair along the back of it. He was still standing, and Dean was taking advantage of that fact. He’d dropped his head and was practically gnawing at Cas in between licking stripes along his skin. “Guh,” Cas grunted as his eyes rolled back and he closed them tightly.

He heard Dean chuckle softly from somewhere below him and then felt a hand undo his zipper. He started to open his eyes, not wanting to miss seeing Dean’s beautiful body at work, but they slammed shut again and his head fell back to his shoulders as Dean’s hand gripped along the bare shaft of his cock. The next thing Cas knew, Dean was stroking his dick while sucking on his right nipple and Cas was now convinced he  wasn’t going to get to sleep with Dean because he was going to die from the foreplay.

Cas’ mouth fell open and clenched his hands into fists by his side before releasing them and moving them back to Dean’s shoulders. He gasped as he looked down, and gently pushed at Dean’s shoulders. Dean leaned back at the touch, releasing Cas’ nipple, but his hand stayed firmly at Cas’ cock. “D’ya like that?” Dean asked, breathlessly. Cas could tell from the look on Dean’s face that this wasn’t a dirty-talk standard, said to elicit a reaction, but an honest question. That only served to make it all the hotter.

Cas nodded, mouth open, as he moved his body closer to Dean’s. He grasped Dean’s chin in his fingers, running his thumb along the cleft, and leaned down to kiss him. Dean’s hand released Cas’ cock as they both moved, Dean backwards and Cas forward. Cas barely resisted the urge to thrust into the air, already missing the heat of Dean’s palm.

Cas lay them out on the bed again, pinning Dean beneath him. He took Dean’s hand in his own and intertwined their fingers. Those hands slid up and above Dean’s head, then Cas used his weight to hold Dean’s hand there. Cas’ other hand went to work at Dean’s jeans, though it didn’t take much at all to have them down to Dean’s mid-thighs. Cas began to stroke Dean’s cock, in much the same way Dean had done his, and Dean’s head dug back into the mattress and he moaned. It was enough to make Cas inhale sharply and his cock twitch.

Dean’s eyes didn’t slam shut like Cas’ had, instead only fluttering from open to shut a few times. He seemed intent on watching exactly what Cas was going to do to him, and fascinated by the entire process. His mouth stayed open, pink and inviting, his brows creased, and his head lolled from side to side. But he kept his eyes on Cas, as if mesmerized.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all are going to kill me, aren't you?
> 
> (Tomorrow! I swear the next chapter will be up tomorrow! ...what are you doing with that pitchfork?)
> 
> (P.S. In case you aren't aware, wallets aren't really a safe place for condoms. 19 year old Dean Winchester doesn't know better, and if Cas was right it wasn't there for long, but please know that it's not ideal. Heat can reduce effectiveness, and there's always the possibility of holes and tears. /PSA)


	19. Summer's Comin'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas gets what he wants, but isn't sure he's going to live through it.

Cas let go of Dean’s hand as he slid down his body. He kissed and bit his way down the muscles he’d been eyeing for months. He licked from freckle to freckle, teasing out delicious sounds from Dean’s slick mouth. Dean gripped at the sheets first, then at Cas’ back and hair.

When Cas heard a wrecked, “Please,” escape from Dean, he was done for. He pressed his forehead against the rib he’d been sucking at and groaned before moving back up hurriedly to kiss Dean again. Then he rose up to tower over Dean momentarily. Somewhere along the way, Cas’ body had taken over – working from some kind of intuition and maybe muscle memory – and he was able to move against Dean just the way he wanted, no longer overcome by how much he’d been wanting this man. Once he rose, though, he could again fully see just how Dean looked, laid out on his bed, eager and panting and completely filled with want. Cas had the wind knocked out of him by the sight.

“Fuck,” Cas said, his voice a mixture of need and awe. Dean’s tongue darted out to wet his mouth, then he smiled before biting his bottom lip. Cas had the thought that if he lived through this it would be a miracle, before Dean was pulling him back down onto him and into a kiss.

Eventually, the clamor for more won out over wanting to relish every moment, and Cas retrieved the bottle of lube from the nightstand. He’d never been so thankful for anything in his life than for the existence of that bottle and its contents. He worked Dean open slowly, convinced with every moan and sigh and plea that surely _that_ noise would be the death of him. Death never came for him though, and, against all odds, Cas found himself about to be inside Dean Winchester.

Dean had rolled onto his belly, and Cas had been thoroughly enjoying watching the muscles in his strong back twitch and roll whenever Dean writhed on the bed under Cas’ touch. He focused his attention elsewhere though, once he’d gotten the condom on. He ran the tip of his cock against Dean’s puckered hole, down towards Dean’s balls and back up a few times. Just enough to make Dean whine and push his ass towards the other man.

Cas slid the head of his dick in as slowly as he could, but once he’d breached the ring Dean took him in more deeply than either of them had expected. Dean gasped and hissed in pleasure, and Cas held still other than his hands, which massaged at Dean’s hips and buttocks. Cas’ mouth dropped open as he was bombarded with the sensations of being wrapped up tight inside of Dean.

Dean groaned as he pushed himself further up on his hands. “Y-you’re big,” he said on a breathy laugh. Cas watched, entranced, as Dean bit his lip before saying, “Fuck.”

“Too much?” Cas asked, already beginning to lean back onto his heels despite not wanting to ever move again.

“No,” Dean said, and grabbed behind him to hold Cas still. “No, keep…keep going. I want it. I want you.” Dean licked his bottom lip and then turned enough for Cas to see him smirk. “Just uh, go slow, yeah?” Dean flicked his eyebrows up.

Cas reached around Dean’s chest and pulled him upright on his knees, so Dean’s back was flush against his chest. He held Dean to him with one hand, long fingers splayed across Dean’s pecs. The other arm wrapped Dean up and Cas cupped along Dean’s cheek to bring Dean’s mouth to his. Cas kissed him sideways as he thrust up and into Dean slowly, only pulling from the kiss when Dean would move his head to moan.

The hand that had held Dean’s cheek then ran down his body to his dick. Cas stroked him slowly, twisting his wrist whenever he neared the head, matching the controlled thrusts of Cas’ dick inside him. Dean groaned and as he did, he clenched tighter around Cas.

“Ung,” Cas said, incoherently, as he stilled his body. If Dean kept doing that it was all going to be over much faster than either of them wanted. “Fuck, Dean, you feel so good.” Cas was whispering into Dean’s ear without even realizing it. He’d never been one for talking during sex, but something about Dean was bringing it out of him. He continued on, likely only making sense half the time, as Dean’s body responded not only to Cas’ body and hands, but to his voice, rough and half-raw as it was. “Been wanting you…” he recognized his voice saying. “Feel so much better than I hoped…” Cas breathed in sharply. “So fucking good, Dean.”

Dean moaned and dropped back to his hands on the bed as Cas fucked into him, his speed having been increasing without his realizing it. They soon worked out a rhythm and Dean’s hips snapped back every time Cas’ snapped forward and both men were panting and groaning, breaking the sound of skin slapping skin with occasional utterances of pleasure and want.

Finally, Cas had to slow down, and grab a hold of the base of his own cock, lest he come before he wanted. He bent down, layering his body over Dean’s, and bit and kissed at Dean’s shoulder blades. Dean moaned in appreciation. Then Cas reared back up slowly. He slightly swatted Dean on the ass before giving a few measured thrusts. Still holding to the base of his dick, Cas quietly commanded, “Roll over.” He ran his hand along Dean’s back, causing a shiver. “I want to see your face.”

Dean did as requested after Cas pulled out. He fell to his back on the bed with a quick huff of air and then swallowed hard as he looked up at Cas through heavily-lidded half-closed eyes. Cas bent down to kiss Dean deeply, wanting it as much as he wanted back inside him. Dean’s legs wrapped around Cas’ hips and waist and he brushed his ass against Cas’ cock in invitation even as his hands roamed Cas’ body.

Cas entered him again, not quite as slowly this time, and as he did, he moved Dean’s legs to spread them further apart. He lifted one long leg over his arm. He evidently got the angle just right as Dean cried out and then growled. Dean’s hand flew to his own cock. “So big,” Dean murmured, clearly enjoying himself. Cas watched as Dean jerked himself in his fist. Dean’s dick was slightly smaller than his, but just as long if not longer. It was like Dean, perfectly formed, symmetrical, and sexy as hell. Cas wanted desperately to know what it would feel like in his mouth.

Cas picked up speed again at the thought and Dean panted with every thrust. The hand that wasn’t working his cock moved up to grab at Cas’ shaggy hair. Dean held on from there, and it sent Cas spiraling even closer to edge of orgasm. He grabbed at Dean’s strong thighs and yanked him up, pulling his ass from the bed, as he pounded into him to match the speed of Dean’s hand on his cock. Dean’s hand fell away from Cas’ hair and landed on his ass, grabbing it and sinking his fingers into the muscle, urging Cas on.

“Fuck, I’m so close,” Dean warned in a whine.

Cas continued to thrust, his own mouth open as he panted. “I want you to say my name,” Cas heard himself saying, not knowing where the idea had even come from. Dean had thrown his life into an unrecognizable tailspin and seemed to be doing the same for the way he fucked.

Dean just nodded, looking up at Cas, eyes shocked and full of desire. The look itself was nearly enough to topple Cas into orgasm. Dean closed his eyes suddenly as his body stiffened and began to shudder. Cas could feel him tighten around his cock. Cas growled, tightening his grip on Dean’s legs, as Dean opened his eyes wide again. He dug his head into the mattress and looked up at Cas, down the bridge of his nose, panting through pink lips. “Ah, fuck. Fuck, Cas.” Dean’s mouth opened wider in a silent scream, and his eyes fluttered shut momentarily. “Cas,” he cried out, higher pitched and gasping. His eyes flew back open as he came in bursts all over his chest and abs.

Cas was following as soon as Dean began to come. He gripped tight to Dean’s legs, and thrust into him erratically. His own legs wanted to give out from the overpowering feeling of his orgasm sweeping through him. Cas had to shut his eyes as it hit him, but he opened them again as his orgasm pumped out of him, his cock twitching inside of Dean. He knew he’d said Dean’s name, but had no idea if it had carried through into anything comprehensible.

Cas let go of Dean’s legs and moved to almost hover over him, bending so he could kiss Dean but not make even more of a mess between them. His hand moved hesitantly to Dean’s cheek and he first stroked it with his fingertips before cupping it. He couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face as his mouth neared Dean’s. They kissed, languid and lazy, for several moments. Both men tried to catch their breath and Dean’s hand stroked idly along Cas’ back and hip, raising goosebumps in its wake.

Cas forced himself to pull away as he pulled out. The action caused a slight groan from Dean, followed by a breathy half-chuckle. Cas looked back up to Dean’s face and saw a satiated and dazed expression. It was sexy and sweet and Cas had to kiss him again several more times before he pulled himself upright. “I’ll get us something to clean up with,” he explained as he moved towards the edge of the bed. Dean just nodded and murmured positive noises.

Cas’ legs didn’t want to cooperate and he practically stumbled his way through the bathroom, collecting a warm damp rag and discarding the condom. Thanks to the orgasm his brain didn’t catch up with him until after he’d re-entered the bedroom to find a sprawled out, naked Dean lying on his bed, lightly stroking at his own stomach with his fingertips. Dean moved his head a little and looked at Cas with half-closed eyes. “Hey Cas,” he murmured with a smile.

Cas swallowed then smiled back, knowing he was probably beaming, but unable to care. “Hello, Dean,” he said as he knelt onto the bed and softly ran the cloth along Dean’s body. Dean took over the task and as Cas watched him, his brain came shrieking back into his body, not wanting to let him enjoy the moment.

“Do you want to stay the night?” Cas asked before his mind could regain control of his mouth. At the sudden, surprised look that Dean gave him, Cas’ stomach dropped. Of course, that’s not what this is. Why would you even ask that, you fool?

Then, just as suddenly, Dean’s expression changed again into a sheepishly happy grin. “I’d really like that.” He cooled. “I mean, ya know, if you’re sure you don’t…”

“I have some pants you can sleep in,” Cas interjected before Dean could say anything further. He at once stood up and walked over to the dresser to retrieve them. When he turned back Dean was watching him, smiling, and Cas felt self-conscious. He frowned a little. “What?”

Dean shook his head. “Nothing!” Then he smiled again, this time in that cocky way Cas had swooned over numerous times. “You’ve got a really nice ass,” Dean said, matter of factly, pointing to Cas. Cas laughed and tossed the pajama pants to Dean as he turned back to get some for himself.

“You’re welcome to the shower, if you’d like.” Cas said, turning back again.

“Yeah. Yeah, ok, thanks.” The two men stared at each other for a short moment before both smiled. “So, this isn’t at all awkward,” Dean said as he stood up. Then he grimaced slightly as he adjusted, the full physical effect of the sex obviously hitting him.

Cas, forgetting himself momentarily, asked, “How’s your ass?” with a sassy smirk and effectively broke the awkward tension.

Dean’s head whipped around to look at Cas again before he barked out a laugh that had him throwing his head back and looking to the ceiling. “It’s uh…” Dean cleared his throat and suppressed a grin. “It’s fine, thanks,” he replied, nodding and smiling.

Cas shrugged as Dean started towards the bathroom. “I wasn’t sure, since I’m…” Cas raised his palms a little, “…so big, and everything.” His voice gave away nothing, and seemed innocent, but it was all he could do to keep the laughter from bubbling up out of him. He couldn’t help the grin that spread at Dean’s dirty look.

“I’m gonna take that shower now,” Dean said, ending the conversation with a smirk and twinkling eyes.

“Sure.” As Dean walked into the bathroom and shut the door, Cas sat down on the edge of the bed. Reality was threatening to hit again, and he wasn’t sure what to do with himself. He’d kissed Dean. He’d _fucked_ Dean. And now Dean was going to spend the night. Cas ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh through puffed cheeks. He raised his head at the sound of the door opening.

“So, your _shower_ is pretty big, too.” Dean seemed unsure of himself and hesitant and it made Cas frown. Dean shrugged. “Would you, uh, wanna join me? There’s space for two.”

Cas smiled. “I think I’d like that,” he said, rising up off the mattress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're almost to the end! Stay tuned for the epilogue and a sneak peek of Dean's perspective...
> 
> (You guys have been amazing and so patient and just awesome. Thank you!)


	20. EPILOGUE: Summer's Almost Gone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue and sneak peek of the summer from Dean's POV...

**EPILOGUE:**

* * *

Cas' legs went limp and Dean collapsed atop him. Dean moved just enough for Cas to pull out and then they lay on Cas' bed, both men panting.

Dean groaned and lifted back up on his elbows. "You're pretty damn bendy," he panted at Cas with an impressed smile. His eyes got a mischievous glint then. "Ya know - for an old dude." He winked at Cas to let him know he was only teasing.

Cas scoffed as he narrowed his eyes at Dean. He gave Dean a smirk, but otherwise no warning, before he grabbed Dean's arms and flipped both he and Dean over so that he was on top. It knocked the air out of Dean as Cas pinned his wrists to the mattress.

Dean looked up to Cas hungrily, with wide, dark eyes that held a bit of shock. Cas took on a neutral expression and said in a bored voice, "You're pretty slow." Then he smiled and said, "You know - for a young guy."

Dean conceded with a flick of his eyebrows and a downturned mouth. "Fair enough." He laughed and kissed Cas fully. Cas let Dean out of his grip and slid down to lie beside him.

After a few moments of steadying their breathing, Dean sighed. "I'm gonna grab a shower." He turned and kissed Cas on the temple before swinging his long legs over the side of the bed.

Cas smiled as he watched Dean walk towards the bathroom. They'd been together for a few weeks now and Cas still sometimes wondered if it was all really happening or if he'd had some kind of psychotic break upon seeing Dean in barely legal swim trunks.

Thanks to their jobs it had been easy for them to spend time together. Granted, a lot of that time had been in the bedroom, but not all and Cas had grown even more fond of Dean during every second of it. They'd spent a few nights reading together on the couch, tucked up against one another, when Cas had a deadline looming. Cas had begun showing Dean how to cook, at which Dean had excelled. Similarly, Dean had shown Cas how to work on cars. (Sadly, Cas had not shown the same aptitude toward that as Dean had shown towards cooking.)

Sam had even joined them swimming on a few occasions and for dinner. Cas had been pleased to discover that Dean had told Sam about them and that Sam was thrilled they'd gotten together.

His own siblings had proven a little harder to convince. Anna spent most of time around Cas now smirking and waggling her eyebrows, especially after he’d cancelled going on vacation with her and Gabriel. When Gabriel had learned about them his response had been "Holy Mid-life Crisis, Cas-Man!" He'd eventually come around to believing it was maybe more than just sex, though. He'd grinned and slapped Cas on the back one night, saying, "You two are perfect for each other - neither one of you gets any jokes I make. You, cause you're weird and stopped paying attention to pop culture 100 years ago, and him, cause he's 12."

Cas was lost in these thoughts when he heard Dean shout from the bathroom. “This shower’s too big, dude. Nobody _needs_ a shower this big.” Cas smiled and pulled himself off the bed, padding quietly towards the shower to join Dean.

 

 

 

 

 

**Sneak Peek from['The Other Side of Summer'](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2455007) (Dean's POV)**

* * *

 

 

Dean felt like a goddamn schoolgirl.

True, he had a tendency to zone out when Bobby was, yet again, going over the list of rules they had to abide by to work at Singer’s Landscaping. But Dean was pretty sure that having a crush on, and detailed hardcore sexual fantasies about, one of your clients would definitely be included under the “Things Not to Do” column. He felt like Bobby would have very strong opinions on that matter.

Dean sighed. He had just taken the job that Bobby had given him. That’s all he’d done; it was perfectly innocent. How was he supposed to know that the client was going to be tall and tan and handsome as hell?

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> o_O I can't believe this is completely posted...
> 
> I really, really hope you guys loved it. I have loved all your comments and feedback and it has been an awesome ride. THANK YOU TONS! There's more to come in this verse. [Dean's POV](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2455007), for sure. (And who knows, maybe I'll do some timestamps or a mini-sequel.)


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